TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's parliament, known as the Legislative Yuan (立法院), reached consensus Friday (April 25) to examine President Lai Ching-te's nominations for seven Constitutional Court (憲法法庭) justices, including the pivotal positions of Judicial Yuan president and vice president. The Office of the President (總統府) submitted the nominations on March 21, seeking to fill long-standing vacancies after legislators rejected a previous slate of candidates last year.
This marks President Lai Ching-te's (賴清德) second attempt to fill the court vacancies after his initial nominees, including Chang Wen-chen (張文貞) and Yao Li-ming (姚立明) for the leadership positions, faced parliamentary rejection in December 2024. The fresh slate of candidates includes five additional nominees: Hsiao Wen-sheng (蕭文生), Cheng Chun-hui (鄭純惠), Lin Li-ying (林麗瑩), Chen Tzu-yang (陳慈陽), and Chan Chen-jung (詹鎮榮). Officials noted that these selections adhere strictly to constitutional protocols governing the appointment process for Taiwan's highest judicial body.
The parliament's procedural committee, having evaluated the nominations, has called for thorough vetting by the full legislative body—a move that suggests broad agreement across Taiwan's often fractious political landscape. Presidential officials underscored the critical nature of these judicial appointments for Taiwan's constitutional governance, pointing out that the nomination process strictly follows Article 5 of the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China (中華民國憲法增修條文第5條), the island's foundational legal document. ★
