Opposition to the Legislative Yuan Postponing the Exercise of the Consent Power for Grand Justices to the Next Session

Regarding external reports that the Kuomintang and People First Party caucuses are unwilling to complete the review of the Grand Justices personnel appointments during the current session, preferring instead to exercise the consent power for the nominees after the next session convenes in September, the "Alliance for Civilian Supervision of Judicial Yuan Grand Justices (including the President and Vice President) Nominees" (hereinafter referred to as the Grand Justices Civil Supervision Alliance) expresses strong dissatisfaction. The Alliance emphasizes that if the Legislative Yuan truly intends to play a proper "gatekeeping" role in vetting the suitability of Grand Justice candidates, it should step up its pace, do its homework diligently, and utilize the extended period of the current session to review each nominee. It should not leave this vital personnel matter—which is crucial to constitutional operations—unresolved for over three months, causing nationwide anxiety and casting unpredictable variables on whether the incoming Grand Justices can smoothly take office and begin operations in early October.

The Grand Justices Civil Supervision Alliance stated that although the Alliance has always advocated that the Legislative Yuan should prudently exercise its consent power, this must never serve as an excuse for certain legislators to delay the review. Furthermore, waiting until the next session opens in September to conduct qualification reviews for the Grand Justice nominees not only compresses the time limit for the Legislative Yuan to exercise its consent power (the next term of Grand Justices should legally take office in early October), but also easily gives rise to the imagination that political forces have the opportunity to intervene, causing negative impacts on the reputation of the legislature and the image of all political parties in the Legislative Yuan.

Moreover, all sectors of society previously gave high praise to the fact that political parties did not recommend Grand Justice candidates to the President through party recommendations this time, and held high expectations that political parties would insist on appointments of Grand Justices being supra-partisan. However, it is currently widely rumored that some opposition party caucuses are unwilling to exercise consent power on Grand Justice candidates during this session based on so-called "tactical" or "strategic" political considerations. The Grand Justices Civil Supervision Alliance expresses deep regret over this! The Alliance particularly emphasizes: "It is the best policy for all ruling and opposition parties to utilize the extended time of this session to properly review the qualifications of the Grand Justice nominees. Any party or legislator that treats the exercise of the Grand Justice consent power as a political bargaining chip or a tool for political infighting will ultimately be spurned by all citizens!"

The Grand Justices Civil Supervision Alliance stated that the questionnaire survey conducted by the Alliance targeting 196 legal professionals regarding the suitability of the 15 Grand Justice candidates has entered the statistical analysis phase, and the results are expected to be made public within a few days. In addition, the Alliance also confirmed for the first time that a small number of Grand Justice nominees have been targeted as potentially unsuitable candidates, and the Alliance's evaluation committee is currently actively gathering relevant evidence. Finally, the Grand Justices Civil Supervision Alliance emphasized that its opposition to the Legislative Yuan postponing the exercise of the Grand Justice consent power to the next session is purely arguing on the merits without any intention of shielding any political party. Furthermore, since whether this session can smoothly review the Grand Justice nominees is of paramount importance, the Alliance also plans to dispatch an observation group to the scene to express concern during the Legislative Yuan plenary session vote tomorrow (the 30th). It hopes that all sectors of the ruling and opposition can view the Legislative Yuan's exercise of the Grand Justice consent power with impartiality and select talents for the country; only then will it be the fortune of all citizens!

The Grand Justices Civil Supervision Alliance is composed of six groups: Taiwan Association for Public Advocacy (Hsinshe), Judicial Reform Foundation, Taiwan Association for Human Rights, Taiwan Law Society, Taiwan Bar Association, and Taipei Bar Association.