TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Kuomintang (KMT) slammed the Constitutional Court on Wednesday (Sept. 25) for imposing restrictions on the use of the death penalty.

The Constitutional Court ruled the death penalty is constitutional on Friday (Sept. 20). However, it said this is only true if it is used for the most serious crimes, and listed several circumstances under which it can not be used.

These included in cases where a defendant does not have legal representation, if they are mentally compromised, and if judges fail to make a unanimous decision. According to KMT Chair Eric Chu (朱立倫), these and other conditions imposed by the court essentially amount to abolition of the death penalty, per CNA.

Speaking at a party meeting, Chu said the Constitutional Court’s decision interfered with the judiciary, and said that its judges had created a constitutional crisis. He said the legislature must avoid appointing judges to the court with personal interpretations of the Constitution or ideological partisanship.

The court’s decision also failed to please anti-death penalty groups. After the Firday ruling, eight civil society groups against the death penalty met to express disappointment with the ruling.

Meanwhile, the office of President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) issued a statement and said the ruling was an important milestone for Taiwan’s judiciary. The president expects relevant government institutions to amend laws and regulations to comply with the Constitutional Court’s ruling, it said.

Lai’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has faced ongoing accusations from the KMT that it is attempting to de-facto abolish the death penalty. Faced with these accusations on Tuesday, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said the government administers the death penalty in accordance with the law.

A survey conducted in the run up to the Constitutional Court’s Friday decision showed that over 80% of respondents supported keeping the death penalty in place.