Taiwan's Constitutional Court has ruled that the death penalty is in line with the Constitution, but limited its application to only to the most serious crimes and the circumstances of their commission, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
The decision, announced by the president of the Constitutional Court, Xu Cunli, concerns a class action brought by 37 death row inmates who have exhausted their appeal options at all possible levels. The Constitutional Court admitted the claim in January, and in April the arguments of both sides were heard.
The death penalty in Taiwan can be applied to 50 crimes, mostly premeditated murder. The ruling, which only addressed the criminal law provisions applied to the 37 death row inmates, said some of the provisions were unconstitutional.
According to the Director General of the Judicial Administration Yang Haoqing, the judges believe that as the most severe punishment, the death sentence should be applied only in cases where the crime was committed in a particularly cruel manner.
According to the decision, the relevant authorities are obliged to amend the applied provisions within two years, starting from its announcement yesterday.
Yan said the death penalty cannot be carried out until the relevant amendments are made. According to the decision, the attorney general can file an extraordinary appeal depending on the circumstances of each case, he explained, adding that in a recent sociological survey, more than 80% of respondents were against the abolition of the death penalty.