Taiwan’s Constitutional Court ruled on Friday (September 20) that the death penalty was constitutional but severely limited its application, splitting the difference between strong domestic support for capital punishment and international pressure for abolition.
The court outlined two key requirements for imposing and carrying out a death sentence:
- The crime must be of the “most serious nature.”
- The judicial process must adhere to the “strictest procedural standards.”
Only when the two criteria are met can a death sentence decision be handed down and executed. The court stated that within these limitations, the death penalty does not violate the constitutional protection of the right to life. Any current laws incompatible with the ruling must be amended within two years. The court prohibited the death penalty from being imposed on a person with a mental or cognitive disability until the relevant laws have been amended.
The court’s judgment was made in response to petitions from 37 death row inmates who had exhausted the appeals process.
At a press conference after the ruling, Yang Hao-chin (楊皓清), director-general of the Constitutional Court Clerk Department, said on behalf of the court that the ruling does not mean the petitioners can avoid the death penalty. He explained that once the relevant laws have been amended, the inmates can request that the prosecutor general file an “extraordinary appeal” (非常上訴) if they believe their crimes are not the “most serious,” with Taiwan’s Supreme Court to make the final determinations.
Yang said those who lack the mental capacity cannot be put to death. The Ministry of Justice will assess each case for this capacity. If an inmate is deemed capable and no extraordinary appeal is filed or granted, execution remains possible under the Ministry of Justice’s guidelines.
Taiwan’s National Human Rights Commission responded to the court’s decision by urging the government to uphold human rights obligations and ensure justice for victims’ families.
While Taiwan is regarded as one of the most democratic countries in Asia, support for the death penalty is high. A May poll by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation found that among Taiwanese adults aged 20 years and older, 84.6% of respondents supported maintaining capital punishment. Only 10% of the respondents supported the abolition of capital punishment.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairperson Eric Chu (朱立倫) said an “insanity defense” could become a golden ticket for people to avoid being executed. He said the KMT understands what the people of Taiwan want and stands with them and urged Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) to express his opinions on the death penalty because he nominates the grand justices and heads of the Judicial Yuan.
Although Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations, it voluntarily follows international human rights norms. In 2009, lawmakers and experts ratified the U.N.’s two covenants, one of which calls for abolition of the death penalty.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited Taiwan in 2018 when he was the shadow Brexit secretary to lobby against the death penalty. In 2020, the European Union External Action urged Taiwan to “refrain from any future executions, to reinstate and maintain a de facto moratorium, and to pursue a consistent policy towards the abolition of the death penalty in Taiwan.”
When asked what sort of message the court intends to send to the international community, a spokesman told Domino Theory the court had declined to comment.
This article was updated on September 25, 2024 to correct the following information: Taiwan’s Constitutional Court did not rule that the death penalty could not be imposed on a person with a mental or cognitive disability. The court prohibited the death penalty from being imposed on a person with a mental or cognitive disability until the relevant laws incompatible with the ruling have been amended.
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