« Taiwan Journal of Political Science No.10Publish: 1999/06

Legal Issues in the Drafting of the ROC Treaty-Making Law

Author: Steven Kuan-tsyh Yu

Abstract / Chinese PDF Download

Under  the  ROC  Constitution,  whilst  the  President  is  empowered  to conclude treaties, the Executive and Legislative Branches of the government are authorized to share the exercise of treaty-making powers. To implement these  constitutional  provisions  more  effectively  than  ever  before,  the government  initiated  some  ten  years  ago  the  travaux  préparatoires  for enacting a “treaty-making law” governing the exercise of such powers. Due to  disagreement,  nevertheless,  between  the  two  governmental  branches  on the complicated legal issues involved, no law of this nature has been resulted yet. To  explore  possible  solutions  to  such  issues,  this  paper  starts  by  an objective examination of the alleged differences between such designations as “treaty” and “agreement.” This is followed by a comparative study of the Parliamentary and Presidential approaches to the treaty-making process. An extensive analysis is conducted to explore the controls which the Legislature may  exercise  over  the  Executive  Branch  in  discharging  its  treaty-making functions.  This  paper  proceeds  to  inquire  comprehensively  into  the  ROC’s law  and  practice  in  determining  whichever  is  prevailing  if  conflicts  arise between treaty and state laws. The author concludes by developing principes governing the “accords” possibly achieved through talks across the Taiwan Strait. In  so  focusing,  the  paper  refers,  as  necessary,  to  all  relevant  legal theories, doctrines, jurisprudence, and the practics of the leading states in the world as well. The current situation across the Strait will also be considered.

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