The result of the constitutional interpretation was not as good as expected Xu Guoyao: the judiciary speaks for the administrative organs
Text / Gongku reporter Hong Yuzeng
On the afternoon of June 24th, the Constitutional Court of the Judicial Yuan handed down judgments on the case of "the dismissal of Ding et al. for public servants" and the "case of Xu Guoyao's dismissal", and made the 111 Year Xian Judgment No. 9 and No. 10 judgments respectively. The "Xu Guoyao Removal Case" mainly focuses on the situation of Xu Guoyao's dismissal, and proposes two constitutional discussions. Including whether Article 31, Item 1, Paragraph 11 of the "Police Personnel Regulations" is unconstitutional, and whether the administrative agency's decision to remove from office violates Article 77 of the "Constitution".
Justice Huang Hongxia served as the presiding judge in this verdict. The verdict shows that Article 31, Item 1, Paragraph 11, of the "Police Personnel Regulations" is not unconstitutional. As for whether the administrative organ's removal from office is unconstitutional? The Constitutional Court said it was "inadmissible".
Lv Zhengyan, deputy director of the Legal Policy Department of the Civilian Judicial Reform Foundation, pointed out that the so-called "inadmissible" means that the judge believes that the discussion has nothing to do with the case, and will not make a judgment on whether it is unconstitutional or not, as if the current law is still valid. In the face of the results of this constitutional interpretation, Lu expressed his disappointment and will continue to promote relevant guarantees in the future.
5 years of constitutional interpretation is a long road, 8 years of removal from office is even more difficult
The Xu case originated in 2012, when Xu Guoyao launched Taiwan's first "Guardian Fire Parade" in Kaohsiung. At that time, he put forward three demands: reasonable working hours, the return of non-fire professional business, and the formulation of fire personnel personnel systems and regulations. Unexpectedly, after the parade, Xu was dealt with by the Kaohsiung City Fire Bureau after the fall. In September 2014, he was dismissed because of the intensive punishment of 42 admonitions that year, which also led Xu Guoyao to take a long journey of judicial relief and firefighter labor rights. The road to reform.
In particular, Xu's case is related to the "Police Personnel Regulations", which applies not only to police officers, but also to firefighters. The law states that if police officers in the same performance appraisal year, the "normal assessment" rewards and punishments have been offset by each other and accumulated to two major points, the selection agency should be removed from office. However, compared with the Civil Service Performance Appraisal Law, which is applicable to general public servants, the assessments, rewards and punishments of civil servants will be "annual total", and only those who accumulate two major demerits will be dismissed after the rewards and punishments are offset.
Xu Guoyao believes that the above-mentioned laws violate the rights of the public to serve public office, and that the removal of administrative organs may violate the provisions of Article 77 of the Constitution, that is, the Judicial Yuan is the highest judicial organ of the country and should be in charge of the punishment of civil servants. Xu case should also follow this law. review and discussion. After Xu Guoyao was removed from office in 2014, he also launched administrative relief and other means, and filed the above-mentioned application for constitutional interpretation in 2017.
Especially with regard to the "Police Personnel Regulations", Lv Zhengyan pointed out that the Chief Justice did not consider the law to be inappropriate, and determined that police officers belong to more special duties, so compared with ordinary civil servants, they must be given stricter standards. "But the most important issue in this case is that Xu Guoyao is a 'firefighter'. The reason why the police personnel regulations apply is because the state has not formulated fire personnel personnel regulations."
Lu believes that for Xu Guoyao and other firefighters, they are forced to follow an unreasonable system. In particular, the lawyers group proposed to the justice in the oral argument court in March this year, but the justice did not have a more in-depth response and discussion.
The result of the constitutional interpretation was not as expected Xu Guoyao: The fire brigade wants to save everyone and I want to save the fire brigade, I am not wrong
"I lost this lawsuit, not just me alone."
Xu Guoyao pointed out that the result of this constitutional interpretation also means that in the future, the police and firefighters across the country may face the situation of tying their hands and feet. Even when administrative organs maliciously punish grass-roots personnel, they still do not need to go through judicial review procedures. He emphasized that the current situation of firefighters and whistleblowers is still severe, and the relevant working hours reform has not been implemented. He appealed to firefighters not to admit defeat and continue to work hard to create a better workplace environment for future firefighters.
Xu Guoyao also thanked Zhang Jiawei, a firefighter from Kaohsiung City who has accompanied him since the parade in 2012. Even in the face of a crisis of suppression, he still did not forget to persevere to the end and continued to support him.
"At that time, we sincerely believed that this was a country with real democracy and the rule of law." Zhang Jiawei mentioned that since the end of the parade, Xu Guoyao has not forgotten to fight for his rights even after being dismissed, and even won the Shizi No. 785. In recent years, many public servants have suffered Relevant remedies can be filed in accordance with the law when administrative sanctions are imposed.
However, Xu Guoyao himself could not save himself. He also criticized that since Xu Guoyao's dismissal has triggered a chilling effect on Kaohsiung firefighters, most of them can only praise the administrative organs, and it is difficult to raise objections to fight for their rights. At the press conference, Zhang Jiawei couldn't hide his loss. He was moved to tears and clenched his fists.
Yang Shiwei, a member of the Consumer Promotion Association, also criticized the decision. This sentence will undoubtedly expand the power of the administrative organ, and even allow the high-level officials to intensify the punishment of grassroots personnel. Especially in the Constitutional Court, the justice mentioned that there is currently Shizi No. 785 available for relevant relief, so there is no doubt that it is unconstitutional. However, in fact, the Xu case has exhausted all kinds of remedies, and finally the constitutional interpretation was brought up. Yang rhetorically asked: "Xu Guoyao has used these procedures and the trial is over. How can it be re-trial?"
Yang Shiwei emphasized that the verdict will undoubtedly make Xu Guoyao a victim of the legal gray area. In addition, the judge emphasized that the judicial power cannot intervene in the executive power. Yang Shiwei was deeply dissatisfied with this. He pointed out that the current Xu case was a state of being influenced and sacrificed by the executive power. . Lv Zhengyan also said that in the past, the executives held too much power, so he hoped that through this case, Xu Guoyao's predicament would be improved, more civil servants would be protected, and more civil servants would be willing to speak the truth bravely within the system, but the verdict was unsatisfactory.
Although deeply disappointed by the verdict, Xu Guoyao still thanked the Civil Judicial Reform Foundation, the Firefighters Work Rights Promotion Association, lawyer Shao Yunliang, and his family for their company and support from all walks of life. He said that the days to come are still to pass, and he will continue to work hard. "The fire brigade wants to save everyone, and I want to save the fire brigade. I am not wrong." After eight years of dismissal, Xu Guoyao is very clear that the world still needs more efforts.
[Extended reading] About Xu Guoyao's case
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