Taiwan’s Constitutional Court ruled on Friday that the death penalty remains constitutional for serious offenses, including murder. However, the court ordered the government to amend criminal procedures within two years to better protect the right to life.

The case challenged the constitutionality of the death penalty for intentional homicide and killings linked to other crimes such as robbery, kidnapping or rape. The applicant argued that capital punishment violates the right to life under Article 15 of Taiwan’s Constitution and Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

Referring to General Comment No. 36 from the UN Human Rights Committee, the court held that capital punishment could be applied to the most serious crimes without breaching ICCPR obligations. The court affirmed that the death penalty may be constitutionally imposed for crimes involving intentional killing but instructed judges to consider factors like intent, motive, means, extent of participation and the victim’s ability to defend themselves before sentencing.

The court also required the government to amend several criminal procedural rules, including repealing Article 388, which denies defendants mandatory defense rights during a trial of third instance in Taiwan’s top court. It further mandated that public defenders be appointed before criminal investigations to protect the defendant’s right to life. Although the court stopped short of banning the death penalty for defendants with mental or intellectual disabilities, it prohibited imposing such sentences until relevant laws meet constitutional standards.

E-Ling Chiu, director of Amnesty International Taiwan, welcomed the court’s acknowledgment of flaws in the death penalty but expressed disappointment that it was not abolished. Chiu stated:

As the global trend continues towards abolition, today’s decision stacks Taiwan against the majority of the world’s countries that have already fully consigned this punishment to the history books. The authorities of Taiwan must act to swiftly commute all death sentences, bring about reforms to the criminal justice system that prioritize the protection of human rights and abolish the death penalty once and for all.

The Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty also voiced concerns for the current 37 death row prisoners, arguing that most were not convicted of “the most serious crimes” and that their guilty verdicts occurred under a flawed system now deemed unconstitutional.

Conversely, the Kuomintang party criticized the ruling as overstepping legislative powers and disregarding public support for the death penalty. They noted that only one murder conviction had resulted in a death sentence in the last five years, suggesting that the justice system already adequately protects defendants’ rights. The party argued that by tightening standards, the court effectively abolished the death penalty without legislative consent.

The Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty, adopted by the UN in 1989, promotes abolishing the death penalty as a human rights advancement. Despite international efforts, Amnesty International found that “in 2023 the lowest number of countries on record carried out the highest number of known executions in close to a decade,” with 144 countries now considered abolitionist in law or practice.