Qualification for Appointment

The Judicial Yuan Organization Act, Article 4,

A candidate for Justice shall have one of the following criteria:

1. Having served as a judge for at least 15 years with outstanding performance.


2. Having served as a prosecutor for at least 15 years with outstanding performance.


3. Having actually practiced as a lawyer for at least 25 years with outstanding reputation.


4. Having served as a professor in a university or an independent college that is accredited by the Ministry of Education for at least 12 years, lecturing on the subjects as prescribed in the provisions of Article 5 Paragraph 4 of the Judges Act for at least 8 years, and have specialized publications.


5. Having served as a Judge in an international court, or having worked as a public law or comparative law researcher in an academic institution and having authoritative professional publications.


6. Having researched in jurisprudence, and having political experience with outstanding reputation.

The number of Justices with a qualification as prescribed in any of the Subparagraphs of the preceding Paragraph shall not exceed 1/3 of the total number of Justices.

The qualification as described in Paragraph 1 shall be calculated from the date of nomination.

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Procedures of Appointment

　　Under Articles 78 and 79 of the Constitution and Article 5 of the Constitutional Amendments, fifteen Justices of the Constitutional Court (including the President and the Vice President of the Judicial Yuan) have the authority to interpret the Constitution, and to render uniform interpretations of statutes and regulations whenever they are in conflict, and to declare the dissolution of any political party in violation of the Constitution. All of the Justices of the Constitutional Court (including the President and the Vice President of the Judicial Yuan) are nominated and, with the consent of the Legislative Yuan (Congress), appointed by the President of the Republic of China. The Justices serve an eight-year term and may not be reappointed. However, the President and the Vice President of the Judicial Yuan do not have the same term protection. Due to a current transition to a staggered appointment system, of fifteen Justices appointed in the year 2003, eight, including the President and the Vice President of the Judicial Yuan, serve a four-year term, while the others serve an eight-year term.