Statement | Amendment to Article 80 of the Criminal Code Passes Third Reading: A First Step in Reforming the Statute of Limitations for Child Sexual Assault, with Subsequent Systemic Safeguards Yet to Be Completed

Today, the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment to Article 80 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of China on third reading, revising the statute of limitations for prosecution. The Judicial Reform Foundation welcomes the Legislative Yuan's response to the longstanding barriers faced by survivors of sexual offenses committed against children and youths in seeking justice. The amendment ensures that some survivors who were unable to disclose the offenses in time because of their young age, trauma, or power imbalances will no longer be shut out of the justice system simply by the passage of time. To continue advancing related systemic reforms, the Foundation issues the following three-point statement:

1. The amendment applies to cases in which the statute of limitations has not yet expired; we welcome the government's adoption of our recommendations

2. Reform remains incomplete; we look forward to the passage on third reading this year of related amendments, including those to the Crime Victim Rights Protection Act and the Civil Code

3. The Constitutional Court is deliberating the “Statute of Limitations for Sexual Assault Against Minors Case”; we urge the public to continue following its progress

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1. The amendment applies to cases in which the statute of limitations has not yet expired; we welcome the government's adoption of our recommendations

When the draft amendment was first announced for public comment, the Ministry of Justice did not include cases in which the statute of limitations had not yet expired within the scope of the new law. In response, the Foundation issued a statement in August 2025 calling for the scope of application to be expanded and reminding the authorities to amend the Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act at the same time.

The Ministry of Justice subsequently revised its proposal, which passed its third reading today. In June this year, the Ministry of Health and Welfare also announced draft amendments to Articles 53-2 and 53-3 of the Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act. These revisions largely adopt the Foundation's recommendation to extend the statute of limitations for related sexual offenses against children and youths.

We welcome the relevant agencies' adoption of our legislative recommendations. We also hope that the corresponding amendments to the Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act, which share the same legislative purpose, will soon pass their third reading—the bill has not yet been approved by the Executive Yuan—to comprehensively protect the rights and interests of children and youths.

2. Reform remains incomplete; we look forward to the passage on third reading this year of related amendments, including those to the Crime Victim Rights Protection Act and the Civil Code

We must nevertheless remind the public that extending the statute of limitations for prosecution is only the first step, not the endpoint, in protecting victims' right of access to justice. The following goals concerning the protection of survivors of sexual offenses committed against children and youths have yet to be achieved:

• Amend the Crime Victim Rights Protection Act to extend the time limit for applying for crime-victim compensation.
• Amend the Crime Victim Rights Protection Act to provide retroactive relief to victims whose applications for compensation were unreasonably rejected in the past.
• Amend the Civil Code to extend the limitation period for civil claims brought by survivors of sexual assault committed against them as minors.
  

Regarding the proposed amendments to the Crime Victim Rights Protection Act, the Ministry of Justice's draft announced for public comment in March this year also largely adopted the recommendations made by the Foundation and the Association for Victims Support. The Foundation subsequently submitted additional recommendations in the hope of making the legislation more comprehensive.

Regarding the Civil Code, the Ministry of Justice has also drafted provisions including Article 129-1 and issued a letter at the end of last year requesting comments from relevant agencies.

As stated in the supplementary resolution accompanying the amendment to Article 80 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of China passed by the Legislative Yuan today, the related institutional reforms and legislative amendments should be advanced as soon as possible. We look forward to all of the amendments described above passing their third readings before the end of this year.

For a long time, the greatest obstacle in cases involving sexual offenses against children and youths has not been victims' unwillingness to pursue justice. Rather, when an offense occurs, children often lack the ability to understand what has happened, recognize the unlawful violation, or seek help from a trusted adult. Even after reaching adulthood and beginning to understand their experiences, they may delay disclosure because of trauma responses, family pressure, coercive control by the perpetrator, or social stigma. If the law calculates the statute of limitations solely from the time of the offense, many survivors may effectively lose access to justice before they are capable of seeking a remedy.

3. The Constitutional Court is deliberating the “Statute of Limitations for Sexual Assault Against Minors Case”; we urge the public to continue following its progress

Although the amendment to Article 80 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of China passed its third reading today, survivors whose cases had already become time-barred can currently seek relief only by petitioning the Constitutional Court. In particular, those who received a final judgment within the past six months may still petition the Constitutional Court to consolidate their petitions with the pending case, thereby preserving an opportunity for relief in their individual cases. We therefore urge the public to continue following the proceedings in Constitutional Court Case No. 384 of 2023.

Civil society organizations or victims wishing to apply for permission to submit amicus curiae briefs may do so until August 8 this year. Because an application to participate as amicus curiae must be filed through an attorney, the Foundation can assist applicants in obtaining free representation from pro bono attorneys (contact email: contact@jrf.org.tw).

The Foundation calls for comprehensive future reviews encompassing criminal procedure, victim protection, and the allocation of judicial resources. Every child or young person who has suffered abuse should have an opportunity to receive a judicial response at an appropriate time, rather than lose the possibility of pursuing justice because of inadequate institutional design.

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Press Contact

Lu Cheng-yen, Attorney-at-Law and Deputy Executive Director, Judicial Reform Foundation

Phone: 02-2523-1178 ext. 37

Email: elvin@jrf.org.tw