SEEKING JUSTICE: The Constitutional Court remanded the 11 cases as amendments passed in July changed the start of the statute of limitations to when the victim turns 20By Yang Hsin-hui and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer請繼續往下閱讀...The Constitutional Court yesterday ruled that the old Criminal Code provisions governing the statute of limitations for child sexual assault prosecution were unconstitutional and remanded the cases involving 11 victims for retrial.However, the ruling does not cover other pending cases in which the statute of limitations had already expired under the old law, meaning “only the 11 petitioners will receive legal redress.”The Legislative Yuan on July 7 passed amendments to Article 80 of the Criminal Code, changing the statute of limitations for prosecuting sexual assault cases against minors to begin from the time when the victim turns 20.The amended provisions also apply to cases in which the statute of limitations had begun, but had not yet expired before the new law took effect.However, the amendments do not apply retroactively to cases in which the statute of limitations had already expired before the changes took effect, leaving victims in those cases with constitutional review as their only avenue for legal redress.In yesterday’s ruling, the Constitutional Court said that the old provisions on the statute of limitations for sexual offenses against children and adolescents, including aggravated sexual assault and aggravated indecent assault, which began running from the time the offense was committed or the act ended, excessively restricted the legal rights of child and adolescent victims.This violates their constitutional right to seek legal redress and the principle of proportionality, and runs counter to the Constitution’s intent to protect the physical and mental health of children and adolescents and ensuring their healthy development and well-being, it said.The Constitutional Court said that to ensure that victims have access to effective legal remedies, it determined that upholding the finding of unconstitutionality should take precedence over the defendants’ statute-of-limitations benefits under the unconstitutional provisions.After the cases are remanded, courts should refer to the amended Article 80, Paragraph 3 of the Criminal Code, promulgated on July 22, when calculating the statute of limitations, it said, adding that under the amended provision, the period before a victim turns 20 should not be counted toward the statute of limitations.Chiu Hsien-chih （邱顯智）, a lawyer representing one of the victims, expressed relief that his client would be able to obtain legal redress, but also voiced his regret that the ruling could not be applied to other victims.He urged the Legislative Yuan to amend the laws further.新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
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