The Justices of the Constitutional Court issued an interpretation earlier this week stating that university students are now allowed to bring an administrative suit against any school ruling they consider an infringement on their rights. And such a result has immediately provoked debates about the relationship between the faculty and the students.

In 2004, fourth-year National Taiwan University graduate student Tsai Yao-yu applied for permission to put up posters on campus in support of Chen Shui-bian.

NTU rejected the application on legal grounds. Later on, NTU also turned down student Chen Yu-chi's request to take courses outside of her department.

In another case, a student ended up failing a course because he was late to an exam. All three of these students felt that their rights had been violated, and applied for a constitutional interpretation after their lawsuits were rejected.

On Monday, the Justices of the Constitutional Court returned Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 684. The ruling overturned Interpretation No. 382, which had been in effect for 16 years.

Under the new interpretation, any student unhappy with suspensions and expulsions, disciplinary measures, posted notices, exam grades, or course selection will be able to initiate litigation against their school.

The ruling applies only to vocational, technical, and graduate students, and the scope of administrative penalties will be decided on a case-by-case basis by the Ministry of Education department that handles legal disputes.

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