TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — After months of deliberation, Taiwan’s Constitutional Court on Friday (Sept. 20) determined that the death penalty is constitutional.
However, its application should be limited to the most severe criminal cases of murder, reported CNA. According to recent polls the general public favors maintaining the death penalty by over 80%.
The case was brought forward by 37 inmates on death row, who petitioned that capital punishment infringed upon their right to life and human dignity, violating legal principles of equality and proportionality. The case was consolidated with other petitions by several human rights groups that have called for Taiwan to abolish capital punishment.
Chief Justice Hsu Tzong-li (許宗力) read the court’s decision aloud, and said capital punishment clearly complies with Taiwan’s Constitution. Furthermore, its application does not run counter to the United Nation’s Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as the plaintiff’s lawyers had claimed.
During the ruling, Hsu also read through the charges which each of the plaintiffs were found guilty of, emphasizing the serious nature of their crimes and the proportionate ruling merited for each of them.
The Constitutional Court agreed to take up the case back in April, with a ruling originally expected in late July. However, the court exercised its right to delay the ruling by an additional two months, giving itself a deadline of Sept. 22.
Prior to the court’s announcement on Friday, members of the legal community in Taiwan anticipated that the chances of the constitutional court completely abolishing the death penalty were relatively low, per UDN. Both the Legislative Yuan and Ministry of Justice had also issued statements advocating against abolition of the death penalty by judicial review.
Since the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) came to power in 2016, Taiwan has carried out only two executions, both during former President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) first term, with none carried out since 2020, per BNN Bloomberg. All but three of 15 justices currently serving on the court were appointed during the Tsai administration.
The court’s composition led to speculation among opposition lawmakers earlier this year that the court was poised to abolish the death penalty via judicial ruling.
Proponents of the death penalty argue that the legality of the death penalty must remain a legislative matter, to be determined by lawmakers representing the will of their constituents.