CHAPTER VIII. THE ENFORCEMENT AND AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION

ARTICLE 139. The term "law" as used in the Constitution means that which has been passed by the Legislative Yuan and promulgated by the President.

ARTICLE 140. Laws in conflict with the Constitution are null and void.

The question whether a law is in conflict with the Constitution shall be settled by the Censor Yuan submitting the point to the Judicial Yuan for interpretation within six months after its enforcement.

ARTICLE 141. Administrative orders in conflict with the Constitution or laws are null and void.

ARTICLE 142. The interpretation of the Constitution shall be done by the Judicial Yuan.

ARTICLE 143. Before half or more of the provinces and territories have completed the work of local self-government, the Members of the Legislative Yuan and of the Censor Yuan shall be elected and appointed in accordance with the following provisions:

1. The Members of the Legislative Yuan: The Delegates of the various provinces, Mongolia, Tibet, and of the citizens residing abroad, to the People's Congress shall separately hold a preliminary election to nominate half of the number of the candidates as determined in Article 67 and submit their list to the People's Congress for election. The other half shall be nominated by the President of the Legislative Yuan for appointment by the President.

2. The Members of the Censor Yuan: The Delegates of the various provinces, Mongolia, Tibet, and of the citizens residing abroad, to the People's Congress shall separately hold a preliminary election to nominate half of the number of candidates as determined in Article 90 and submit their list to the People's Congress for election. The other half shall be nominated by the President of the Censor Yuan for appointment by the President.

ARTICLE 144. The Magistrates of districts where the work of self-government is not yet completed shall be appointed and removed by the Central Government.

The preceding paragraph is applicable _mutatis mutandis_ to those municipalities where the work of self-government is not yet completed.

ARTICLE 145. The methods and procedure of helping the establishment of local self-government shall be determined by law.

ARTICLE 146. No amendment to the Constitution may be made unless it shall have been proposed by over one-fourth of the delegates to the People's Congress and passed by at least two-thirds of the delegates present at a meeting having a quorum of over three-fourths of the entire Congress.

A proposed amendment to the Constitution shall be made public by the proposer or proposers one year before the assembling of the People's Congress.

ARTICLE 147. In regard to those provisions of the Constitution which require further procedure for their enforcement, such necessary procedure shall be determined by law.

_B._ THE SYSTEM OF ORGANIZATION OF THE NATIONAL CONGRESS[1]

[Footnote 1: "Kuo-min Ta-hui Tsu-chih Fa" in Chung-yang Hsüan-ch'uan Pu (Party-Ministry of Publicity), _Hsien-chêng Chien-shê Fa-kuei_, Chungking, XXVIII (1939), p. 35-8.]

The following laws were passed by the Legislative _Yüan_ April 31, XXVI (1937), in amended form, after the election had been postponed.

ARTICLE 1. The National Congress shall frame the Constitution, and shall determine its date of execution.

ARTICLE 2. _i._ The National Congress shall be organized by the Representatives of the people to the Congress. _ii._ The manner of electing these Representatives is fixed in another set of laws.

ARTICLE 3. Members and reserve members of the Central Executive Committee of the Kuomintang, and of the Central Supervisory Committee of the Kuomintang shall be Representatives to the Congress without election; members of the National Government and its officials may attend the Congress.

ARTICLE 4. The date of convening the Congress is to be fixed by the National Government.

ARTICLE 5. The Congress shall convene in the locality occupied by the National Government.

ARTICLE 6. Representatives to the Congress shall take an oath of allegiance during the opening ceremonies of the Congress, to wit: "I,------, do hereby promise with absolute sincerity that as a representative of the Chinese people, I shall receive the instructions of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the Father of the Republic, and that I shall execute my official power only according to law, and shall obey the discipline of the National Congress."

After taking the oath, the Representatives should thereto sign their names.

ARTICLE 7. Thirty-one members shall be elected from among the Representatives themselves to form the Presidium of the Congress. Their duties shall be:

_i._ To fix the manner of discussing motions and to regulate the progress of the discussion. _ii._ To discharge executive affairs of the Congress. _iii._ To perform other duties fixed in this code of laws.

ARTICLE 8. During a meeting of the Congress, the Presidium shall elect the Chairman of the Meeting.

ARTICLE 9. The National Congress shall form special committees to examine the qualifications of the Representatives, to examine motions and proposals and for other matters. These committees shall be organized upon the request of the Presidium and passed by the Meeting.

ARTICLE 10. The period of a session of the Congress is 10 to 20 days; it may be extended whenever necessary.

ARTICLE 11. The duties of the National Congress are fully discharged when its Meeting closes.

ARTICLE 12. A quorum shall consist of at least half of the total number of members. Motion can be passed when more than half of the members present vote for it.

In adopting the Constitution, at least two-thirds of the total number of the members shall be present, and adoption shall require a majority greater than two-thirds of the members present.

ARTICLE 13. The Congress may adopt any of the following methods to put a motion to vote: raising the hands, standing up, or balloting. In case of a tie, the Chairman may cast the deciding vote.

ARTICLE 14. The National Congress shall have a Secretariat and an organization of police guards. Their organization and duties shall be decided by the Presidium.

ARTICLE 15. The National Congress shall have a Secretary General, appointed by the Presidium, and discharging the affairs of the entire Congress.

ARTICLE 16. The Representatives shall not assume any responsibility towards the general public for any opinion expressed by them during the session of the Congress.

ARTICLE 17. Except by approval of the Congress, no Representative of the Congress may be detained or arrested when the Congress is in session.

ARTICLE 18. During the session, a Representative who does not abide by the rules of the Congress may be warned by the Chairman, or may forfeit his privilege to speak. Adequate punishment shall be imposed upon any who may commit serious offenses.

ARTICLE 19. The above mentioned punishment will be decided by the Congress, upon the examination of the Punishment Committee (formed by the Representatives to the Congress).

ARTICLE 20. The date of adoption of this code of laws is to be fixed in an order from the Central Government.

_C._ ACT OF THE LEGISLATIVE _YÜAN_, APRIL 31, XXVI (1937) GOVERNING THE ELECTION OF REPRESENTATIVES TO THE NATIONAL CONGRESS[1]

[Footnote 1: "Kuo-min Ta-hui Tai-piao Hsüan-chü Fa" in Chung-yang Hsüan-ch'uan Pu (Party-Ministry of Publicity) _Hsien-chêng Chien-shê Fa-kuei_, Chungking, XXVIII (1939), p. 38-49.]

[Note particularly the world-wide electoral areas.]