"Constitutional Court Fast-Track"... Jiwon Park Proposes Pre-rejection of Baseless Constitutional Complaints

Expansion of Designated Panel from 3 to 4 Members
Introduction of "Rejection" for Clearly Baseless Claims
Thorough "Pre-Screening" Before Main Trial

Jiwon Park, Member of the Democratic Party of Korea (representing Haenam, Wando, and Jindo in South Jeolla Province), announced on March 10 that he had recently sponsored the "Partial Amendment to the Constitutional Court Act" to shorten the deliberation period of the Constitutional Court and enhance the efficiency of trials.

The purpose is to proactively address the potential surge in constitutional complaint cases that may result from the future introduction of the constitutional petition system. The core of this amendment is to strengthen the "pre-screening" function for constitutional complaint adjudications.

Jiwon Park, Member of the Democratic Party of Korea

According to the current Constitutional Court Act, the designated panel responsible for pre-screening constitutional complaint cases can only "dismiss" cases that do not meet procedural requirements. As a result, there has been a bottleneck where many cases with no substantive merit proceed unnecessarily to the main trial panel, because there is no legal basis for "rejecting" claims that are clearly without merit.

In response, Assemblyman Park has proposed institutional measures for the efficient handling of constitutional complaint cases through this amendment. First, he expanded the number of judges on the designated panel from the current three to four. In addition, it is now explicitly stipulated that if all judges on the designated panel are unanimous, they may "reject" constitutional complaint claims that are clearly without merit.

To ensure that the right to a fair trial is not unjustly infringed, a strict safeguard has been established by requiring unanimity among all judges. If the designated panel is unable to dismiss or reject a case, the procedure has been revised so that the case is immediately referred to the main trial panel.

Assemblyman Park explained, "Constitutional complaint cases that are clearly without merit should be promptly resolved at the designated panel stage so that the Constitutional Court can focus on deliberating major constitutional issues. This is the way to protect both the Constitution and the fundamental rights of the people."

He added, "By increasing the number of designated panel members and establishing a safeguard that allows rejection only when there is unanimity, I hope this will provide an opportunity for the Constitutional Court to faithfully fulfill its role of safeguarding constitutional order while enhancing the efficiency and authority of constitutional adjudication."

Meanwhile, this bill has completed a preliminary review by the National Assembly's Legislative Office and has incorporated opinions from the Constitutional Court. A total of 24 lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties, including Kim Moonsu, Choi Minhee, and Jin Sungjun, participated as co-sponsors.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.