Five justices from Taiwan's Constitutional Court issued a ruling on December 19, determining that a previous legislative amendment governing its procedures is unconstitutional and will be invalidated immediately.
The amendment to the Constitutional Court Procedure Act requires a quorum of ten judges to adjudicate on constitutional cases and a supermajority of nine votes to invalidate legislation; both stipulations are irrespective of the number of judges actually sitting on the court.
The court has a total of 15 seats, only eight of which are currently filled after seven justices' terms eight year terms ended in October 2024, all of whom were appointed by former Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen.
Taiwan's current president, Lai Ching-te, nominated replacements in December 2024 and July 2025,but a majority coalition of the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) controlled legislature rejected these nominees on the grounds that Lai was trying to stack the court with partisan judges.
This same coalition later passed the amendment raising the number of judges needed for a quorum and supermajority. The court has since been paralysed due to the ongoing vacancies for most of 2025.
Three of the eight justices abstained from the vote to overturn the amendment and immediately published legal opinions questioning the ruling'slegality and the court's political composition. （Related： New Chinese AI Chip, Breakthrough in Processing Power ｜ Latest ）
Taiwanese lawyer Ye Qingyuan also strongly condemned the situation, posting on Facebook that the interpretation was "unbelievable" and that justices cannot declare themselves free fromprocedural amendments regulating their behaviour, otherwise any such future amendment could likewise be invalidated.
