《TAIPEI TIMES》 Send bills back to legislature, over 200 lawyers say

By Yang Kuo-wen and Jason Pan / Staff reporters

More than 200 lawyers in a joint statement yesterday urged the Executive Yuan to send a set of controversial legislative reform bills back to the legislature, and for lawmakers to substantively debate the bills once they are returned.

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The statement cited the numerous flaws and breaches of regular procedures, and questions contentious articles that it says contravene the Constitution.

If the bills are promulgated, they would have a serious impact on the rights and obligations of citizens, it said.

“It is regretful to see the bills getting pushed through a third reading, despite the cited controversies,” attorney Chan Shun-kuei （詹順貴）, senior partner at Taipei-based Holistic Law Firm, and other prominent legal figures said in the letter. “The situation led to physical altercations inside the legislative chamber, while the public also has misgivings.”

“The protest actions were a strong display of public opinion to voice their discontent over the legislative process,” the statement said.

During public protests about the bills, more than 100 legal experts and law professors at colleges and universities signed a petition calling for their return to the legislative committees for consultation and review, but regrettably, lawmakers continued to ignore these concerns, it said.

The passage of the amendments to the Act Governing the Legislative Yuan’s Power （立法院職權行使法） and the Criminal Code expand the powers of lawmakers to hold hearings and conduct investigations, as well as make contempt of the legislature a punishable offense if civil servants are deemed to have provided misinformation, are evasive or refuse to respond when questioned by lawmakers, it said.

The Constitution does not clearly grant these powers to the legislature and the bills would likely need to go through a constitutional interpretation, it said.

The bills also impose punishments on citizens who refuse to cooperate as witnesses, which contravenes the freedom of expression, right to information privacy and other personal liberties as stated in the Constitution, it said.

“There are numerous questions and uncertainties about these bills, which also contain clauses that are in conflict with each other. Their future application would certainly result in many disputes, while also infringing on the basic freedoms and rights of citizens ... as well as result in conflicts on the powers of the five branches of government,” it said.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES