On November 6, 2009, the Constitutional Court of Taiwan ruled that a law penalizing prostitutes and not their clients is unconstitutional because it undermines equality under the Taiwanese Constitution. The decision meant that the Social Order and Maintenance Act had to be amended to meet constitutional fairness requirements, but will remain in effect two years from the date of the decision. At the time, the Taiwanese government was reevaluating legal the treatment of prostitution, including consideration of measures such as establishing zones in which prostitution would be legal.

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Learn more about the legal treatment of prostitution from the JURIST news archive.

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