The Constitutional Court in April is to hear oral arguments on whether the death penalty is constitutional, and a ruling is to be made in three months, with an extension of two months allowed if needed, it said on Thursday.
Thirty-seven death-row prisoners have filed a petition for a ruling on whether the death penalty is unconstitutional based on the principles of the right to life, human dignity and proportionality.
The Constitutional Court said that it would review a petition filed in 2022 by Wang Xin-fu (王信福), the oldest man on death row in Taiwan, along with related cases filed by death-row prisoners, in an oral argument session to be held from 10am to 4pm on April 23.
Photo: Taipei Times file
The arguments could center on two questions.
The first is whether the death penalty, a legally prescribed punishment, is constitutional.
The court said it wants to clarify whether, in addition to the right to life, the death penalty infringes upon other rights protected by the Constitution, such as the right not to be tortured or the right to human dignity; whether the pursued goals of the death penalty system are constitutional; and whether there are other means of punishment and supplementary measures available if the death penalty is deemed unconstitutional.
The second question is if the death penalty is determined to be constitutional, whether the court should limit the types of crimes that it can be applied to.
The court said it would also seek clarity on whether the crimes that the petitioners were sentenced to death for are still constitutional and why, and whether the scope of criminal death sentences should be limited, as Article 19 of the Criminal Code stipulates that an offense is not punishable if it is committed by a person who has a mental disorder or disability, and the punishment may be reduced as a result of their capacity for judgement.
Under the Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法), the verdict should be pronounced within three months after an oral argument, and an extension of two months is allowed when necessary.
The cases originally included three other death-row prisoners, but they had died of illnesses in detention centers, so their cases would not be reviewed this time.
As Judicial Vice President Tsai Chiung-tun (蔡炯燉), Grand Justice Tsai Tsai-chen (蔡彩貞) and Grand Justice Greg Yo (尤伯祥) have participated in the trials of death-row prisoners, they would not participate in the hearing, the Constitutional Court said.
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