Taipei, May 29 (CNA) Provisions in Taiwan’s laws that treat adultery as a criminal offense have been ruled unconstitutional and declared invalid effective immediately, Constitutional Court Chief Justice Hsu Tzong-li (許宗力) announced Friday. Hsu and the Constitutional Court determined that the laws that punish adultery infringe on the privacy of individuals and the right of people to make their own decisions, Judicial Yuan Secretary-General Lin Hui-huang (林輝煌) said following the announcement. The adverse effects generated by treating adultery as a criminal offense have clearly exceeded its public benefit and violated the principle of proportionality in a narrow sense, Liu said. The court’s decision, Interpretation No. 791, was made after 15 grand justices heard arguments on the case and reviewed the provisions in the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure that came under scrutiny. Article 239 of the Criminal Code stipulates that a married person who commits adultery and the other party to the adultery shall be sentenced to prison for less than one year, but there can be no trial without a complaint from the alleged victim. Eighteen judges and a man who was convicted of adultery have asked the Constitutional Court in recent years to overturn […]
