Taiwan's Constitutional Court issued a ruling on Friday upholding the legality of the death penalty, which is still imposed on the island and has strong public support, but called for its use to be limited to the most serious crimes.

Members of the Taiwan constitutional court hold a press conference after the ruling on the constitutionality of the death penalty in a case brought by 37 people currently on death row, in Taipei, Taiwan September 20,

The ruling reflects a compromise between international pressure for abolition and domestic support for harsh punishment to deter offenders.

Taiwan’s Constitutional Court is set to rule on whether the archipelago should abolish the death penalty, a key test of its reputation as one of the most progressive societies in Asia.

A Taiwan court decided on Friday to retain capital punishment, but ruled its application should be "limited to special and exceptional circumstances"."However, the death penalty is a capital punishment after all,