Case News
The TCC delivers its Judgment 112-Hsien-Pan-15 (2023)
TAIPEI, November 16, 2023. The Taiwan Constitutional Court (TCC) delivered its Judgment of the "Case on the Solatium for Civil Servants Accidentally Injured when Performing Duties" on September 28, 2023.
Principal Facts, Issues, and Procedure of the Case
This case concerns the criteria for civil servants to apply for solatium. Article 21, Paragraph 2, First Sentence of the Civil Service Protection Act (CSPA) stipulates that "The solatium shall be given to a civil servant accidentally injured, disabled, or died due to performing duties." The definition of "accident" is further specified in Article 3, Paragraph 1 of the Regulations on Solatium Payments for Civil Servants Accidentally Injured or Died When Performing Duties (2018 version) (hereinafter "Regulation on Civil Service Solatium") as "sudden external dangerous occurrence that is not caused by diseases."
The petitioner of this case was a clerk at the Secretariat of the Northern Region Branch of the National Property Administration (hereinafter "Northern Branch of NPA"). In 2017, the petitioner fell off some stairs and got injured when performing duty at a state-owned house. The petitioner applied for solatium but was rejected by the Northern Branch of NPA. The petitioner appealed for a deliberation proceeding (within the agency) and went through subsequent judicial appeal proceedings. After exhaustion of all remedies, the petitioner lodged for constitutional review in December 2020.
The petitioners argued that Article 21, Paragraph 2, First Sentence of the CSPA and Article 3, Paragraph 1 of the Regulations on Civil Service Solatium (2018 version) have unduly excluded solatium payment for "accidents caused by negligence or diseases." The petitioner argued that the disputed provisions contradict the CSPA's ratio legis of protecting civil servants and violates the principle of equality and the proportionality under the guarantee on the right to property.
Judgment 112-Hsien-Pan-15 (2023) was announced on September 28, 2023. Justice Jeong-Duen TSAI wrote this Judgment. Justice Horng-Shya HUANG and Justice Ming-Cheng TSAI each filed a concurring opinion. Justice Tzung-Jen TSAI (joined by Justice Chen-Huan WU, Justice Jiun-Yi LIN, Justice Chong-Wen CHANG, and Justice Hui-Chin YANG) filed an opinion dissenting in part. Justice Chih-Hsiung HSU (joined by Justice Chong Wen CHANG in Part 2, and by Justice Jau-Yuan HWANG in full) filed a dissenting opinion.
Decision of the Court
The TCC upheld the constitutionality of Article 21, Paragraph 2, First Sentence of the CSPA, ruling that it does not violate the people's right to hold public offices enshrined in Article 18 of the Constitution.
The TCC declared Article 3, Paragraph 1 of the Regulations on Civil Service Solatium (2018 version) unconstitutional, ruling that the provision has added limitations unsanctioned by the CSPA, and "accident" defined in the provision should not be limited to "external dangerous occurrences" but should also include accidents caused by the civil servant's own negligence.
Notes:
- Full texts of the Judgment and Opinions are available on the TCC website here (Traditional Chinese). An English summary of this Judgment will be available later on the TCC English website.
- The TCC's Case News is prepared by the Department of Clerks for the Constitutional Court (Judicial Yuan) for information only and does not bind the Court.
- In case of any conflict of meaning between the Traditional Chinese version and the translated English version, the Traditional Chinese version shall prevail.