The clouds are gathering : developments in Taiwanese constitutional law - the year 2016 in review

In this essay, we provide an overview of constitutional law and politics resulting from the historical elections in January 2016 in the light of Taiwanese political and constitutional development. We take account of the new constitutional landscape opened by the January elections, the constitutional politics of judicial appointment, the constitutional controversies surrounding transitional justice and same-sex marriage, and the case law of the Taiwan Constitutional Court (TCC). Taken together, we observe that constitutional law and politics in 2016 develops as if it is a multi-act constitutional play culminating in the drive towards the legalization of same-sex marriage, with President, Legislators, judicial nominees, and activists playing the leading roles in the unfolding drama. Though the TCC appears to be the bland deuteragonist in the 2016 constitutional play, we suggest that as the issues surrounding various reforms are being translated into constitutional questions, the TCC may well take center stage in the next play. With the upcoming judicial fights in sight, the play of constitutional development in 2016 is best entitled “The Clouds Are Gathering.