The Constitutional Court is to issue a ruling on Friday to determine whether Taiwan will abolish the death penalty, further restrict its implementation or maintain the current practice.
In a statement, the court said it would announce the ruling at 3pm on Friday at the Judicial Office Building in Taipei.
Photo: Taipei Times
Whether Taiwan should abolish the death penalty has been a topic of intense debate in recent years, and if the court decides to do so by ruling it unconstitutional, such a decision is almost certain to send shockwaves throughout society.
The case was brought by 37 prisoners currently on death row challenging the constitutionality of the death penalty in Taiwan, with the Ministry of Justice defending the statutory punishment as constitutional.
With the recusal of three justices, the case is being reviewed by the remaining 12 justices, who are to reach a ruling based on a majority vote.
While advocacy by civil society groups to end capital punishment in Taiwan has gathered momentum over the past two decades, polls conducted by the ministry and other organizations consistently show strong public support for its retention.
The court was supposed to render its ruling by the end of July, about three months after oral arguments ended, but it has since pushed back the deadline by two months, without explaining the reason for the delay.
According to Article 26 of the Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法), the court should render a ruling within three months after the conclusion of oral arguments, but this deadline can be postponed by two months if necessary.
TRAFFIC SAFETY RULES: A positive result in a drug test would result in a two-year license suspension for the driver and vehicle, and a fine of up to NT$180,000 The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to authorize police to conduct roadside saliva tests by the end of the year to deter people from driving while under the influence of narcotics, it said yesterday. The ministry last month unveiled a draft of amended regulations governing traffic safety rules and penalties, which included provisions empowering police to conduct mandatory saliva tests on drivers. While currently rules authorize police to use oral fluid testing kits for signs of drug use, they do not establish penalties for noncompliance or operating procedures for officers to follow, the ministry said. The proposed changes to the regulations require
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
China Airlines Ltd (CAL) yesterday morning joined SkyTeam’s Aviation Challenge for the fourth time, operating a demonstration flight for “net zero carbon emissions” from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Bangkok. The flight used sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at a ratio of up to 40 percent, the highest proportion CAL has achieved to date, the nation’s largest carrier said. Since April, SAF has become available to Taiwanese international carriers at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), Kaohsiung International Airport and Taoyuan airport. In previous challenges, CAL operated “net zero carbon emission flights” to Singapore and Japan. At a ceremony at Taoyuan airport, China Airlines chief sustainability
RSS