Vice President Su's Well-Intended Advocacy for Constitutional Complaints?

Recently, Judicial Yuan Vice President Su Yung-chin accepted a media interview to elaborate on the meaning of Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 732. He explained that the land for the Meilun Park Project (Meihot City) was not the unconstitutional "adjacent land" identified by the Grand Justices, but rather mass transit transportation land, falling outside the "scope" declared unconstitutional by the Grand Justices. Even if the constitutional interpretation petitioners were to subsequently file for a retrial based on this, it would be dismissed and they would be unable to overturn the case.

Grand Justices hold esteemed positions and generally do not casually accept interviews, especially regarding interpretations already rendered. Since the text of the interpretation already explains everything, if it were not for the media's inability to correctly understand it and their incapacity to accurately explain and report on it, Vice President Su probably would not have needed to exert such painstaking effort. He even specifically took the initiative to grant an interview after a tea party, bravely breaking through the passive and defensive nature of the judicial power. Furthermore, he risked potential misunderstandings from others who might accuse him of interfering with trials by specifically pointing out the ultimate resolution for the Meilun Park Project case. Clearly, he was begging for a deep understanding from the constitutional interpretation petitioners in order to achieve the lofty goal of "resolving litigation disputes once and for all."

Yet, "judges" usually "do not speak." Vice President Su said quite a lot and even disparaged the media, seeming somewhat agitated. The judicial power is inherently passive; compared to the past practice of "keeping aloof" from individual cases, Vice President Su can truly be described as "bold and proactive" this time around. In particular, judges in lower courts most despise high-ranking judicial authorities "pointing fingers" at individual cases. Even before a retrial has been filed, Vice President Su rushed to reach a conclusion. Predictably, regardless of the outcome of the judgment, it will inevitably fall into the narrative of judicial injustice and early interference, placing judges in ordinary courts in an unjust position.

Unless, Vice President Su merely wanted to use this "move" to advocate for the "constitutional complaint" system. For the advantage of this system is precisely that after the Grand Justices declare something unconstitutional, individual cases can receive a definitive remedy without the burden of repetitive, lengthy, and pointless litigation such as retrials or extraordinary appeals. However, watching the Judicial Yuan staff repeatedly boycott and obstruct the "constitutional complaint" system in the Legislative Yuan, we feel that Vice President Su's advocacy this time is somewhat incoherent and mentally confusing.

In conclusion, aside from the vested beneficiaries of the Meilun Park Project, perhaps no one can truly understand Vice President Su's "well-intentioned efforts."

※ This article was published in the Liberty Times on October 2, 2015