Alliance Statement | The Legislative Yuan Should Postpone the Vote and Conduct Rigorous Review; Grand Justice Nominees Should Respond to the Questionnaire
Last edited: 2026-07-27
During the second meeting of the extraordinary session of the 7th session of the Legislative Yuan, a public hearing on Grand Justice nominees is scheduled for June 24, plenary review from June 25 to June 26, and a vote to exercise the consent power on June 27. The Alliance to Monitor Grand Justice Nominees, composed of 13 civil society organizations, issues this statement as follows:
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The Legislative Yuan should postpone the voting time and prevent the vote from becoming a mere formality
Although individual reviews of Grand Justice nominees were conducted this year following the precedent of 2016, in 2016 the vote was held on October 25, five days after the individual reviews concluded on October 20. This year, however, the vote is scheduled for the morning immediately following the completion of individual reviews. Not only does this prevent the Legislative Yuan from compiling the nominees' responses into a review report, but legislators also lack sufficient time to individually synthesize the nominees' opinions, rendering the entire process hasty, rushed, and a mere formality.
The Alliance calls upon the Legislative Yuan to compile the materials from the public hearing and plenary review into a review report after the plenary review concludes on June 26, provide it to all legislators, and conduct the vote during the 8th session beginning in September. If difficulties arise, the vote should at least be postponed until July 5, the final day of the extraordinary session.
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Grand Justice nominees should respond to the questionnaire and publicly clarify their constitutional stances prior to the legislative deliberation
Looking back at 2016, of the seven Grand Justice nominees nominated by President Tsai Ing-wen, six responded to the questionnaire proposed by the Alliance. However, the four nominees nominated this year have not yet responded since the Alliance mailed the questionnaires and personal background survey forms on June 6, leaving the outside world unable to ascertain the nominees' views on key constitutional issues. Although the evaluation committee assesses whether they are qualified to serve as Grand Justices based on their past judgments, writings, and public statements, if these four nominees successfully take office as Grand Justices, doubts inevitably remain as to whether they can act as guardians of the Constitution on the constitutional controversies raised in the questionnaire throughout their eight-year tenure.
The Alliance calls upon the Grand Justice nominees to respond to the questionnaire and personal background survey form proposed by the Alliance prior to the legislative deliberation on June 24, allowing the general public to examine them, thereby ensuring that the development of constitutional human rights reaches new milestones during their upcoming eight-year term as Grand Justices.
Furthermore, in addition to publishing the evaluation report, the Alliance will, in accordance with past practice, release the questionnaire question bank compiled over the years to provide it to legislators for questioning, expecting legislators to urge Grand Justice nominees to clearly state their positions on important constitutional issues during the review.
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The Legislative Yuan should hold hearings and produce a review report
When the Alliance held a press conference on June 13, it called upon the Legislative Yuan to hold a hearing and produce a review report when reviewing Grand Justice nominees, before submitting it to the plenary session for a vote. Because the opinions of scholars and experts at public hearings cannot be utilized for legislative review, the public hearings are reduced to mere formalities. Moreover, in the absence of a review report, legislators who did not attend the public hearing or participate in the review lack sufficient information to judge whether the nominees are qualified, making the flaws in the review procedure self-evident.
Nevertheless, the Legislative Yuan continues to follow the 2016 review process this year, scheduling a public hearing for next Monday, June 26, without holding a hearing or formulating a more rigorous review schedule and procedure. This inevitably raises doubts as to whether it will once again devolve into an empty situation, reminiscent of 2016, where scholars, experts, and legislators simply talk past each other.Therefore, the Alliance once again calls upon the Legislative Yuan to transform the public hearing into a hearing, requiring nominees to attend and respond to questions from scholars and experts to enhance the quality and effectiveness of the review. If schedule adjustments pose difficulties, the Alliance urges that during the public hearing, at least half a day or more should be allocated for representatives of various caucus groups to question the experts and scholars, and the answers provided by the experts and scholars should be compiled into a review report to serve as a reference for legislators during the review.
Finally, the Alliance emphasizes that democracy and the rule of law were not easily attained, but in contemporary society, the manipulation of public opinion and the trampling of human rights are gradually eroding the foundations of our constitutional system. Facing such severe challenges, the current Grand Justices have repeatedly shouldered immense pressure amidst critical constitutional controversies to issue numerous epoch-making interpretations, leaving an iconic mark in constitutional history. The Alliance sincerely hopes that the Legislative Yuan will amend the Act Governing the Legislative Yuan's Power so that a rigorous Grand Justice review process becomes the norm. Once strict standards are established, substantive reviews can be conducted through clear mechanisms in a democratic society with alternating parties, thereby selecting qualified Grand Justice candidates.
Convener of the Alliance to Monitor Grand Justice Nominees Attorney Huang Hsü-t'ien
Spokesperson Attorney Ch'en Yen-huan
Alliance Members
Hsueh-社 (Hsueh-she)
Taipei Bar Association
Taiwan Association for Human Rights
Citizen Congress Watch
Taiwan Association for Innocence
Taiwan Forever
Taiwan Awakening Foundation
Judicial Reform Foundation
Taiwan Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
Yung She
Taiwan Jury Association
Environmental Jurists Association
Garden of Hope Foundation
Press Contact
Judicial Reform Foundation / Attorney Ch'en Yen-huan (02)2523-1178
Press Releases of Alliance Press Conferences in 2019
This article is an AI-generated translation of the original Chinese text. In the event of any discrepancy, the Chinese version shall prevail.