Seven nominees to be justices on Taiwan's top court are being grilled by the legislature as they seek confirmation. Opposition legislators are taking issue with their stance on the death penalty, one of the most controversial issues in Taiwan that recently had its scope narrowed in a ruling by the Constitutional Court.
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00:00Families of victims of serious crimes are still in mourning years.
00:04They say upholding the death sentences of the perpetrators is the only way they can
00:09see justice.
00:10But they're worried that a recent constitutional ruling limiting its use may never see the
00:15offenders punished.
00:16I brought my wife's small bag of evidence.
00:17I'm keeping it now.
00:18You think the death penalty is a line.
00:19But the result of your sentence is that the judges at the lower levels can't independently
00:20judge you and the judge cannot execute the death penalty.
00:31You have done an unlawful deed.
00:33How many families are still in mourning?
00:35Isn't it enough for us to be here?
00:37The sentence for the sentence is actually not just the family of the victims.
00:42The consequences he's going to bring are actually the national collective responsibility.
00:47The death penalty is one of the most controversial issues in Taiwan, and many lawmakers and citizens
00:54alike still strongly support the punishment.
00:57But in September, the Constitutional Court ruled that the death penalty was only allowed
01:02in exceptional cases.
01:04A poll published by a think tank founded by a KMT legislator showed over 80 percent of
01:09people disagree with the court's ruling.
01:12And now, seven justice nominees picked by President Lai Ching-teh are under fire as
01:16they undergo confirmation hearings in the opposition-controlled legislature.
01:21One nominee, a law professor at the country's top university, was grilled over her response
01:26to whether she agreed with the court's ruling.
01:46Other nominees said that restricting the scope of the death penalty doesn't mean that
01:58it won't be used, and acknowledged that justices would still have to address concerns about
02:02capital punishment in the future.
02:16The seven justice nominees will need to pass this review by the legislature, where the
02:30opposition Kuomintang and Taiwan People's Party have a combined majority, if they want
02:34to get a seat on that court.
02:37The legislature is set to vote to confirm the justices on December 24, but with political
02:42divisions and no consensus on the thorny issue of the death penalty, the future of
02:46the court remains in limbo.