Press Release
2024/04/24

The Judicial Yuan and the Taiwan Constitutional Court sincerely welcome the visit of the Delegation of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic

    TAIPEI, April 24, 2024. On April 16, the Judicial Yuan and the Taiwan Constitutional Court (TCC) welcomed the visit of the delegation of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic. This visit was the continuity of the official bilateral exchanges between the TCC and its Czech counterpart that started last year, when Chief Justice HSU was invited to lead a delegation to visit the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic in June 2023 by then Czech Constitutional Court President Pavel Rychetský (current Emeritus Justice since 2023). 

  To strengthen exchanges between the constitutional judiciaries of Taiwan and the Czech Republic, the Justices of the TCC in 2024 invited President JUDr. Josef Baxa, Vice-President doc. JUDr. Vojtěch Šimíček, Vice-President prof. JUDr. Kateřina Ronovská, Secretary General JUDr. Vlastimil Göttinger, and Dr. Pavel Dvořák (Head of the External Relations and Protocol Department of the Czech Constitutional Court) of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic to visit Taiwan from April 15 to 18. On the afternoon of April 16, the delegation met with President of the Judicial Yuan and Chief Justice Tzong-Li HSU, Vice President Justice Jeong-Duen TSAI, Justice Chih-Hsiung HSU, Justice Jui-Ming HUANG, Justice Sheng-Lin JAN, Justice Jau-Yuan HWANG, Justice Ming-Yan SHIEH, Justice Tzung-Jen TSAI, Justice Tsai-Chen TSAI, Justice Fu-Meei JU, Justice Chung-Wu CHEN, Justice Po-Hsiang YU, and Director General of the TCC Judge Hao-Ching YANG. Their meeting commenced with President Baxa expressing his condolences on the earthquake that struck Hualien previously on April 3. President Baxa also commended the resilience that Taiwanese people have shown in the wake of this natural disaster. In response, Chief Justice HSU thanked President Baxa for his care and hoped that the two constitutional adjudication agencies may engage in regular academic exchanges in the future. 

  After the meeting, President Baxa delivered a speech under the title "The Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic Through the Prism of Legal History." In his speech, President Baxa pointed out that in addition to the intrinsic function of serving as an arbiter, the constitutional court also assumes interpretative and protective duties, navigating between honouring the decisions of other courts and safeguarding the fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals. President Baxa noted that the experiences of constitutional courts are unique and non-transferable, which is why it is extremely valuable that they can communicate horizontally with each other. 

    In terms of the position of the constitutional court, President Baxa provided some important viewpoints in his speech. For instance, he mentioned that "constitutional court judges must not adjudicate with popularity in mind but rather with justice as their guiding principle," and that they "must not be swayed by the potential repercussions of (…) decisions, the outcry of politicians, headlines, or crowds gathered beneath (…) windows." Furthermore, he also stated that the constitutional court should be aware of its subsidiary role in addressing political issues, and decide with the full weight of its authority, rationally, impartially, and with solid argumentation when called upon to decide. President Baxa also provided three concrete verdicts to illustrate the evolution of Czech society and the Czech Constitutional Court throughout the past three decades, namely, the verdicts concerning the communist legacy, the Lisbon Treaty, and the adoption within registered partnership. President Baxa ended his speech by stressing that the constitutional court must be the supreme interpreter of the constitution; it must be apolitical and independent—with constitutionality as its sole benchmark. 

    After the speech, the delegation and Justices of the TCC engaged in friendly dialogues. Chief Justice HSU closed the session by thanking the delegation for sharing the Czech Constitutional Court's experience during democratization. Chief Justice HSU expressed his utmost respect toward the Czech Constitutional Court's unwavering persistence and safeguarding of the constitutional principles and values during phases of transformation. Chief Justice HSU concluded that the shared values between the two Courts today are encouraging and meaningful in a historical sense. Chief Justice HSU hoped that TCC and the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic would continue to strengthen their exchanges, share their adjudicating experiences, and jointly safeguard the values of constitutional democracy in the future.