The Judicial Yuan () is the judicial branch of the Republic of China, which previously ruled the mainland and now controls Taiwan. It functions as the Constitutional Court and oversees the courts of Taiwan, including the ordinary courts such as the Supreme Court, high courts, and district courts as well as special courts like administrative, and disciplinary courts. The Judicial Yuan holds the following powers:
- Interpretation – Acting as the Constitutional Court to interpret the Constitution and other statutes and regulations made by the central or local government.
- Adjudication – Most civil, criminal, and administrative cases are adjudicated by the respective courts supervised by the Judicial Yuan. The Constitutional Court adjudicate presidential impeachment and political party dissolution cases.
- Discipline – Disciplinary measures with respect to public functionaries are adjudicated by the Disciplinary court.
- Judicial Administration – The Judicial Yuan supervises administrative affairs of all courts established by Taiwanese law.
According to the current Constitution, For the most part, the court served as a legal advisor to the government, rendering decisions that unified interpretations of statutes or ordinances or providing legitimacy for these politically expedient solutions as a result of extension of legislative representatives' terms. In Interpretation No 31 of 1954, the court extended the legislative representatives' terms, ruling that 'the nation was under crisis and the country could not hold the election for the second term legally'. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Constitutional Court further affirmed the constitutionality of adding extra seats to both the Legislative Yuan and the National Assembly by means of legislative enactments in Interpretation Nos 117 and 150.
{|class=wikitable
!colspan=2 width=300|President and Chief Justice!! colspan=2 width=300 |Vice President and Justice
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|colspan=2|Shieh Ming-yan||colspan=2|Vacant
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!colspan=4|Justices
|-align=center
|colspan=2|Term from 2019 to 2027||colspan=2|Term from 2019 to 2027
|-valign=top
|width=200 colspan=2|Lu Tai-lang<br>Shieh Ming-yan<br>Tsai Tzung-jen<br>Yang Hui-chin
|width=200 colspan=2|Judy Ju<br>Tsai-Chen Tsai<br>Chen Chung-wu<br>Greg Yo<br>Ju Fu-Meei
|}
Important decisions
Important decisions of the Constitutional Court are listed as the following.
Interpretations made before the Constitutional Court Procedure Act
{|class=wikitable
!No.!!Date!!Summary!!Ref
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|align=center|1||Jan 6, 1949
|Legislative Yuan members shall not hold positions in executive government concurrently.
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|align=center|31||Jan 29, 1954
|Extended term of the first Legislative Yuan and Control Yuan indefinitely until the next elections in China.
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|align=center|76||May 3, 1957
|The issue of the tricameral parliament of China: National Assembly, Control Yuan and Legislative Yuan
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|align=center|86||Aug 15, 1960
|All high courts and district courts shall be organizationally placed under the Judicial Yuan
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|align=center|99||Dec 19, 1962
|The New Taiwan Dollar shall be the national fiat money, not local currency, and the Central Bank entrusted the issuance.
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|align=center|261||Jun 21, 1990
|Term of the first National Assembly, Legislative Yuan, and Control Yuan shall be terminated by December 31, 1991.<br>This interpretation resulted in the total re-election of the National Assembly in 1991 and the Legislative Yuan in 1992.<br>This interpretation also opened the subsequent legislative elections in Taiwan.
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|align=center|328||Nov 11, 1993
|Coverage of the national territory shall not be interpreted by the Constitutional Court.
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|align=center|365||Sep 23, 1994
|Judged the jus sanguinis principle in the Taiwanese nationality law shall apply to both mother and father.
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|align=center|499||Mar 24, 2000
|Voided the 5th amendment of the Additional Articles of the Constitution
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|align=center|644||Jun 20, 2008
|Judged the ban of "advocate Communism or secession" in the Civil Associations Act as unconstitutional.
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|align=center|748||May 24, 2017
|Judged the statutory ban on same-sex marriage in the Taiwanese Civil Code as unconstitutional.<br>The government shall take motion to legalize same-sex marriage in Taiwan.
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|align=center|791||May 29, 2020
|Judged the criminalization of adultery as unconstitutional.
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Interpretation No. 31
In 1954, the Council of Grand Justices extended the terms of members of the Legislative Yuan and the Control Yuan elected in 1948, ruling that: