The Constitutional Court yesterday ruled that imposing a life sentence or the death penalty for people convicted of selling narcotics is partly unconstitutional.
The authorities have to implement legal amendments within two years to reflect the ruling.
The court reviewed Constitutional Interpretation No. 476 based on 54 complaints stating that Article 4 of the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act (毒品危害防治條例) only offered polarizing choices and gave judges very little room to adjudicate, potentially contravening articles 7, 8 and 23 of the Constitution.
Photo: Wu Cheng-feng, Taipei Times
Article 4 states that offenders who manufacture, transport or sell Category 1 narcotics are subject to a death sentence or life imprisonment, and may also be fined up to NT$30 million (US$943,456).
As defined by the act, Category 1 narcotics include morphine, cocaine, heroin, opium and their derivative products.
The intent of lawmakers to use life sentences to deter narcotics trafficking and use is evident, but the law fails to consider situations in which the accused is not guilty of other legal contraventions, the offense was minor or the case merits clemency, the judges said in their ruling.
Even if judges invoke Article 59 of the Criminal Code to reduce a defendant’s sentence, the crime would not merit such a heavy sentence, the ruling said.
Article 4 of the act risks being too rigid and inflexible, and the authorities should review the legal sentences that would be appropriate if the crime does not befit the sentence.
The ruling suggested that the authorities introduce fixed-term imprisonment as an alternative ruling or base the prison terms on the amount of narcotics sold and how many times the defendant has been accused of selling the product.
Starting from the day of the ruling until the legal amendments have been completed, any ruling regarding the trafficking of Category 1 narcotics should not only invoke Article 59 of the Criminal Code, but also reduce the already-reduced sentence by half, the court said.
Five of the petitions had been filed by narcotics traffickers and they can demand that the prosecutor general file a petition for an extraordinary appeal, the court said.
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