Amendments to the Criminal Code, the Prison Act (監獄行刑法) and Enforcement Law of the Criminal Code of the Republic of China (中華民國刑法施行法) that would allow a system of “life imprisonment without parole” contravene the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and should be withdrawn for further review, Covenants Watch (人權公約施行監督聯盟) and other civic groups said yesterday.
The groups urged the Executive Yuan to retract its amendments and called on all political parties to halt the related legislative procedures.
If the Executive Yuan were to push forward with the amendments, they would set a poor example for legislation, as the Constitutional Court is currently unable to sit with an insufficient number of members and therefore cannot review them.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
The Cabinet issued previews of the amendments, which said that life imprisonment or prison sentences longer than 10 years would not be eligible for parole.
The amendments contravene the ex post facto, proportionality and equality principles, making them unconstitutional, the groups said.
The amendments have drawn strong backlash from the legal community, they said.
The ruling and opposition parties are ramming through problematic amendments that would have lasting effects on the nation’s correctional system, without consulting experts or investigating problems at correctional facilities, they said.
The Cabinet had not conducted any factual research to support its amendments, nor had it assessed how such a policy would affect human rights, they said.
The groups said they would launch a petition led by 17 experts to express public opposition to the amendments, adding that, to date, more than 100 academics in law and sociology have shown support.
The groups said the petition has also received support from lawyers, correctional facility personnel, juvenile court judges, social workers and psychiatrists.
Life sentences without parole are cruel and infringe human dignity, the groups said, adding that they also contravene the international covenant.
The Chinese Correctional Association said that the parole system is not meant to pardon a large group of people, but it is a safety valve and a source of hope for inmates.
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