Court rules death penalty constitutional but orders more restrictions (update)

Taipei, Sept. 20 (CNA) Taiwan's Constitutional Court on Friday ruled the death penalty constitutional only for "the most serious" premeditated murders and crimes leading to deaths, severely limiting its use in the future.

According to the ruling, the death penalty remains applicable to "punish the offense of homicide" as a form of "just retribution" and for the purpose of "maintain[ing] social order."

The court noted that "the right to life shall be protected at the highest level under the Constitution" but considered that "such protection is not absolute."

The case to challenge the death penalty's constitutionality was brought by 37 death row prisoners who had exhausted the appeals process, and the court issued its ruling in a 7-to-5 vote.

At a news conference following the ruling, Yang Hao-ching (楊皓清), director-general of the Constitutional Court, said the death penalty remained constitutional for premeditated murders and premeditated crimes indirectly resulting in death on "the most serious" scale.

Whether or not a crime is deemed "the most serious" should be determined by the presiding judges, taking into account several combined factors, such as the motive, purposes, means and damage inflicted on victims, Yang said.

According to Yang, while the death penalty remains a statutory punishment in Taiwan, its issuance will be much more difficult following Friday's ruling.

The Constitutional Court has stated that a court should not issue a death penalty ruling unless such a decision is upheld unanimously by the presiding judges.

In addition, the case must be automatically appealed until the Supreme Court makes a final judgment, the director-general said.

Based on current law, a ruling at the court is reached by a majority vote of the reviewing judges, and in cases involving citizen judges, a death penalty judgment must be upheld by more than two-thirds of the votes.

In practice, the Supreme Court has in recent years only subjected individuals convicted of premeditated murder to the death penalty, in keeping with the United Nations' International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that Taiwan adopted in 2009.

Friday's ruling also prohibits the death sentence for individuals with mental disorders or deficiencies, reversing the current practice that allows only those who prove their mental conditions have affected their judgment at the time of committing crimes to receive reduced sentences, Yang noted.

Any current laws incompatible with the ruling must be amended within two years, according to the Constitutional Court.