Main controversy: Taiwan maintains a death penalty despite the development of international human rights law across the world.

Background:

• Case filed by Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty (TAEDP), on behalf of 37 people on death row

• EU has criticized Taiwan for executions in the past

• Amnesty International Taiwan and World Coalition Against the Death Penalty both intervened to support the abolishment of the death penalty
  

  
  

Issues:

For human rights under the HRA, the death penalty violates:

• Art 8 - Personal freedom

• Art 6 - Fair Trial

• Art 2 - Right to Life

• Art 3 - Right Against Torture

Taiwan's constitution also guarantees the following in spite of the death penalty:

• Art 8 - Procedural guarantees in arrest and conviction

• Art 15 - Right to existence

There have therefore been longstanding concerns owing to Taiwanese law being at odds with international legal standards and its own constitution.

The Constitutional Court of Taiwan ruled:

• The death penalty cannot be carried out on those with a mental disability

• The death penalty is constitutional only for the most serious crimes with the most rigorous legal scrutiny

• Taiwanese authorities have two years to amend the law

RFC Perspective:

• While this is a win for abolishers of the death penalty worldwide, in practice all it does for the current death row inmates is that it gives them a chance to appeal if their case was decided without a unanimous sentencing by a panel of judges.

• Otherwise, the main change seems to be the blanket prohibition of the death penalty for people with psychosocial disabilities (mental health conditions).

• In Taiwan, the death penalty remains broadly popular according to opinion polls - it is interesting to consider how this judgment may be received by the public

  
  

On 20th September 2024 Taiwan's constitutional court ruled the death penalty was to remain constitutional, for only the most serious crimes, after considering a petition brought by 37 people on death row.

In 2006 (HRW, 2024) Taiwan abolished a mandatory death penalty for all crimes, retaining it for 50 crimes. Despite this change, all executions since 2002 have been for murder. Taiwan’s most recent execution was in 2020. A man was found guilty of killing six people in an arson attack: after winning praise from the European Union (EU) for a donation of six million face masks during the pandemic. This execution brought criticism from the EU who called for an end to the death penalty.

Amnesty International Taiwan found the recent change, to abolish the death penalty for those with mental disabilities irrespective of its relation to the crime, a small step for human rights. Taiwan’s constitutional evolution seems to fall behind its own rulings. With no one executed for crimes other than murder it raises the question why this was not constitutionally enacted in 2002. Amnesty International Taiwan, along with other non-governmental organisations such as World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, support the full abolition of the death penalty.

Taiwan’s reputation as Asia’s most liberal democracy places itself in a position where it should lead by example. Taiwan rarely carries out the death penalty, and violent crimes is nationally low; yet its perceived local popularity may be a contributing factor in why the constitution is slow to catch up.

With rights groups claiming that thousands of executions are carried out in neighbouring China, it may be time Taiwan puts human rights first, politics second, and steps up as a regional leader on human rights by spearheading real constitutional change.

Majority of the  countres of the world, over 70% are against the death penalty, with 112 out of 195  abolishing the death penalty, while 144 are in practice (Death Penalty Information Center DPIC, 2024). Why is Taiwan yet to join this list? Although the last execution in Taiwan was since 2020, the country is yet to define and finalize its Death Penalty laws. Most importantly is the way the law affect persons with mental disabilities, whose sense of judgement isn't as stable as sociotypical (otherwise termed normal) people. The most recent update from the Taiwanese government is that the death penalty is still existent in the constitution but would only be used for the most serious offenders.

Death penalty shouldn’t be entrenched in any part of a civil nation’s constitution. All criminals should be made to serve punishment and as much as possible repent of their crimes while they are living and not dead. The world keeps looking on to Taiwan as it effects its laws or policies to abolish the death penalty within the next two years.

• Taiwan’s court rules that death penalty still exists but only for the most serious crime

Key info:

1. People with mental disabilities are exempt from this rule

• Not able to stand trial or execution due to their condition

2. Progression against the death penalty (8 April)

• A way of upholding their reputation as Asia’s most liberal democracy

• the Constitutional Court of Taiwan believes that the death penalty is important for serious offences

• Amnesty International Taiwan and the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty argued that it is a violation of human rights

RFC perspective

• Death penalty is a serious punishment for serious crimes such as murder. The Director of Amnesty International Taiwan states that “Today’s decision is a small step for human rights in Taiwan” and she believes that this step “marks a start in Taiwan’s journey towards abolition”

Despite the progression of Taiwan into a more human righteous country, death penalty remains a crucial part in Taiwan’s legal system as a way to punish those who committed serious crimes such as murder. This issue was brought upon after a petition held by 37 inmates who were on death row, and organisations like Amnesty International Taiwan can’t help but support their cause.