The Constitutional Court is set to rule on the constitutionality of acting President Choi Sang-mok’s decision to defer the appointment of justice nominee Ma Eun-hyuk to the nine-member bench.

According to the judicial community on Tuesday, the court notified both Choi and National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik, who filed an adjudication request on behalf of parliament, of the ruling to be made at 10 a.m. Thursday.

The point in dispute is whether Choi failed to fulfill his duty in violation of the Constitution by appointing only two of the three nominees put forth by parliament on December 31, deferring a decision on Ma pending a bipartisan agreement. 

Woo has claimed that the acting president’s arbitrary decision infringed upon the Assembly’s right to form the Constitutional Court and select the justices.

During the hearings, Choi’s legal team questioned the legitimacy of the speaker’s adjudication request on the grounds that it was never put to a plenary vote.