헌법상 생명권과 사형제도

The right to life and Capital punishment

The Capital punishment is a sentence which imposes the defendant to be put to death for his crime, thus depriving him/her of life and it s the heaviest punishment of all. It is a very sensitive issue in the sense that it denies a person s life and dignity. It is also an on-going issue which continues to cause political and ethical controversies. Although there is no direct stipulation acknowledging capital punishment in the constitution, there is controversy on the existence of indirect basis. The Art. 12. I. can not be regarded as an indirect provision if it is interpreted to have criminal punishments stipulated by written law. The Art. 110. IV. stipulates that death penalty can not be sentenced even under the martial law, in a military trial of single-trial system. This article is simply the procedural limit of death penalty in special circumstances. Therefore, it is not appropriate to consider it positively as a constitutional ground for capital punishment. As the supreme Court and the Constitution Court are supporting the capital punishment which seems unconstitutional, legislative examination is inevitable. Considering the fact that the Constitution is neither for nor against the death penalty positively, it is possible to abolish it by enactment of a law and thus, constitutional amendment would not be needed.