Chapter II. General Procedural Provisions
Section 5 Decisions
Article 30
(General Rules on Vote Threshold for Judgments)
Except otherwise provided in this Act, a judgment shall be rendered by a majority of the total number of the incumbent Justices of the Constitutional Court with a quorum of two-thirds of the total number of the incumbent Justices thereof taking part in the proceedings.
Article 31
(General Rules on Vote Threshold for Orders)
Except otherwise provided in this Act, an order shall be rendered by a majority of the Justices who have taken part in the proceedings with a quorum of a majority of the total number of the incumbent Justices of the Constitutional Court taking part in the proceedings.
Except otherwise provided in this Act, an order rendered by a Chamber requires the consent of a majority of the members thereof.
Article 32
(General Rules on Vote Threshold for Admissibility)
Any inadmissible or manifestly unfounded petition shall be dismissed by an order of the Constitutional Court.
Except otherwise provided in this Act, an order that grants admission to a petition requires the consent of a majority of the Justices who have taken part in the proceedings with a quorum of two-thirds of the total number of the incumbent Justices of the Constitutional Court taking part in the proceedings. Failing the required majority, the petition shall be dismissed by an order.
A dismissal order must give reasons and indicate the names of Justices taking part in the rendering of the order and their concurring or dissenting opinions where applicable.
Article 33
(Contents of Judgments)
A judgment shall be in writing and include the particulars below:
(1) the names and the domiciles or the residences of all the parties; in the case that the parties include a legal person, the name and the address of its office or place of business; in the case that the parties include an authority or an unincorporated association, its name and location;
(2) the name and the domicile or the residence of the statutory agent, the representative and the administrator, where applicable, and the their relationship with a legal person, an authority, or an unincorporated association;
(3) the name and the domicile or the residence of the advocate or the defense counsel, where applicable;
(4) the subject matter;
(5) the holding;
(6) the reasoning;
(7) the date of the judgment being rendered; and
(8) the Constitutional Court.
A judgment shall indicate the names of the Justices taking part in its rendering, include their concurring and dissenting opinions, and identify the Justice who authors the opinion of the court.
In the holding of a judgment, the Constitutional Court may designate the relevant authority to implement the judgment and specify the types and methods of implementation.
Under the reasoning part are to be included the gist of the parties' statements, the grounds of admissibility and the legal reasoning underlying the holding.
Article 34
(Application Mutatis Mutandis of Judgments to Orders)
Paragraphs 1 and 3 of the preceding Article shall apply mutatis mutandis to an order.
Except otherwise provided in this Act, an order may be rendered without giving reasons.
Article 35
(Types of Opinions)
A Justice who agrees with the holding of a decision but is not fully satisfied with its reasoning may issue a concurring opinion.
A Justice who, in deliberations on the case, has expressed disagreement with the holding of a decision in part or in whole, may issue an opinion dissenting in part or in whole.
Article 36
(Pronouncement, Publication, and Service of Decisions)
A judgment rendered with oral argument must be pronounced in public. A judgment rendered without oral argument must be published.
An order rendered with oral argument shall be pronounced in public. An order which concludes the proceedings shall be published.
Original copies of a decision shall be served on the parties and the designated implementation authority; provided that a dismissal order shall be served on the petitioner only.
The Constitutional Court shall publish and serve the concurring and dissenting opinions together with the decision.
Article 37
(Effective Date of Decisions)
A decision shall take effect on the date of pronouncement or publication.
An order which is not pronounced or published shall take effect on the date of service.
Article 38
(Erga Omnes Effect of Decisions)
A judgment shall be binding on all the authorities and the people. Every authority has an obligation to implement the judgment.
The preceding Paragraph shall apply mutatis mutandis to an order on the merits by the Constitutional Court.
Article 39
(Finality of Decisions)
Decisions of the Constitutional Court and the Chambers thereof are non-appealable.
Article 40
(Res Judicata)
A party shall not re-petition the same case in respect of which the Constitutional Court has rendered a judgment or an order on the merits.
Article 41
(Binding Effect of Judgments on Unconsolidated Relevant Cases)
The Constitutional Court shall declare by an order that the judgments of the cases under Chapters 3, 4, 7 and 8 shall have effect in respect of other petitions challenging the same impugned laws or arising from the same disputes but not being heard together in a joint oral argument session, provided that those other petitions have been lodged with the Constitutional Court prior to the pronouncement or publication of the judgments and satisfied the admissibility requirements.
The procedural provisions governing constitutional interpretation and those governing uniform interpretation of statutes and regulations specified in Articles 32 and 87, respectively, shall apply mutatis mutandis to the rendering of the order referred to in the preceding Paragraph; such an order must be given reasons.
The provisions of the preceding two Paragraphs do not apply to the cases governed by Articles 59 and 83.
Article 42
(Petition for Rehearing)
For cases concerning constitutionality of laws or disputes between constitutional organs, except as provided in Paragraphs 2 or 3 of this Article, no one shall lodge a petition in respect of the same impugned laws or disputes that have been previously declared short of unconstitutionality or otherwise decided pursuant to the Constitution in a Judicial Yuan Interpretation or a judgment of the Constitutional Court.
All courts, persons, or the legislative or executive authorities of the local self-government bodies may, in accordance with the procedural provisions of Chapters 3 or 7, lodge a petition to request the Constitutional Court to alter a Judicial Yuan Interpretation or a judgment of the Constitutional Court by which a legal provision has been previously declared not unconstitutional, if they consider that the amendment of the Constitution or relevant laws or material changes in social circumstances necessitates the reconsideration of such interpretations or judgments.
Under the conditions specified in the preceding Paragraph, the highest organs of the state may lodge a petition to request the Constitutional Court to alter such Judicial Yuan Interpretations or judgments of the Constitutional Court concerning disputes between constitutional organs in accordance with the procedural provisions of Chapter 4.
Article 43
(Preliminary Injunction)
As is required to prevent the basic rights protected under the Constitution and public interest from being irreparably and materially impaired, a preliminary injunction order, as the last resort, may be rendered by the Constitutional Court, on its own motion or the party's, in respect of the underlying disputes, the application of the impugned legal provision, or the enforcement of the impugned court decision that underlies the petition, inter alia, while the petition is pending before the Constitutional Court.
Prior to rendering the order referred to in the preceding Paragraph, the Constitutional Court may give the parties or the interested persons the opportunity to state opinions or conduct the necessary investigations on its own.
A preliminary injunction order shall be rendered by a majority of the total number of the incumbent Justices of the Constitutional Court with a quorum of two-thirds of the total number of the incumbent Justices thereof taking part in the proceedings and shall give reasons.
A preliminary injunction will cease to have effect, where
(1) the final decision of the case has been rendered;
(2) over six months have elapsed since its issue; or
(3) the Constitutional Court has revoked the preliminary injunction order due to changes in circumstances or other special reasons in accordance with the procedural provision of the preceding Paragraph.
Article 44
(Confidentiality)
The deliberation of the Constitutional Court must remain confidential.