Encroachment on sexual autonomy and interference with privacy cited by court as reasons for the change

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/06/01
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) —Five people jailed for adultery have been released and a total of 162 ongoing court cases involving affairs are expected to be dropped after criminal punishment for adultery was ruled unconstitutional by Taiwan’s Constitutional Court on May 29.

The court explained that classifying adultery as a criminal offense encroaches on people’s sexual autonomy and interferes with their privacy, CNA reported.

The ruling has in essence voided Article 239 of Taiwan’s Criminal Code, which stipulates that “A married person who commits adultery with another shall be sentenced to imprisonment for no longer than one year; the other party to the adultery shall be subject to the same punishment.”

Ministry of Justice data showed that a total of five people serving jail terms for adultery in prisons across Taiwan have been set free following the ruling.    [FULL  STORY]