Taiwan Court Upholds Legality of Death Penalty but Limits Use to Only the Most Serious Crimes

Taiwan’s Constitutional Court upheld the legality of the death penalty but moved to limit its use, in a decision that strikes a balance between keeping the punishment’s deterrent effect and preventing its abuse.

The court on Friday affirmed the constitutionality of capital punishment but restricted its use to only the most serious crimes, while emphasizing the need for better safeguards. The ruling reflects a compromise between international pressure for abolition and domestic support for harsh punishment to deter offenders.

The announcement followed a legal challenge by roughly three dozen petitioners on death row, who argue the penalty violates Taiwan’s constitution. Executions are carried out by shooting, though the law allows lethal injections. 

Although not a member of the United Nations, the democratically ruled island voluntarily complies with international norms. In 2009, lawmakers ratified the U.N.’s two covenants on human rights, one of which calls for the abolition of the death penalty.

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U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited Taiwan as recently as 2018 to lobby against capital punishment. There have been only two executions since the ruling Democratic Progressive Party took power in 2016, and none since April 2020.

The Constitutional Court upheld capital punishment for serious drug cases in 1999 but in recent years its rulings have led to significant change in Taiwan. A decision in 2017 led to Taiwan becoming the first place in Asia to allow same-sex marriage.

A May poll by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation found nearly 85% of respondents favor keeping capital punishment. The opposition Kuomintang strongly supports the penalty, while the ruling DPP says the issue should be handled carefully, leading to calls for it to take a clearer stance.

“The government has never clearly stated its stance, but the DPP has been relatively in favor of abolishing capital punishment,” said Lin Hsinyi, executive director of the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty.

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The DPP kept the presidency but lost its parliamentary majority in January’s elections, and has been facing increasing legislative challenges from the Kuomintang and its allies.

More than 70% of countries around the world have abolished capital punishment in law or practice, according to the US-based Death Penalty Information Center, which monitors the use of the punishment.

Amnesty International says some countries in Asia still have capital punishment on the books but have not executed anyone over the past 10 years, including South Korea and Sri Lanka, according to Amnesty.

Countries in Asia that retain the death penalty for ordinary citizens include Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, North Korea, Pakistan, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, according to the rights group.

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Iran carried out the most executions of any nation around the world last year, with more than 850 people put to death, Amnesty says. The top two countries in Asia for executions last year were Bangladesh and Singapore, with five each, it said, adding it had no data from secretive North Korea, which is suspected of carrying out several executions.