Putting capital punishment to rest : A qualitative study of capital punishment and human rights in China and the Philippines

Sammanfattning: The situation of the influence of human rights issues related to capital punishment has for long been a matter of debate, especially regarding the retention and abolition of the death penalty. Various countries have, during the 20th century, changed their laws and approach on capital punishment with the implementation and adoption of human rights conventions. Opinions and actions taken from international actors like the United Nations and Amnesty International will be analyzed in this thesis as these could contribute in the understanding of the human rights movement which, during the last century, has changed many countries strict retentionist approach on capital punishment to an abolitionist view.   The People’s Republic of China and the Philippines will be implemented as case studies in this thesis which aims to investigate if and how human rights issues are influencing capital punishment in these two countries. The concept of legitimacy will be used as theoretical framework in order to identify changes within three sub-concepts of legitimacy namely morality, legality, and constitutionality. These concepts will, with the help of legitimacy, offer an explanation of how the case studies have handled human rights issues in relation to the death penalty. The arguments behind the decision making of laws, regulations and policies in China and the Philippines will also be of interest in the answering of the research question as these arguments could act as changes within legality and constitutionality. Regarding the moral stand behind the practice of capital punishment, the concept of morality will assist this thesis in the explaining and understanding of the ethics behind the choice of the death penalty.   The findings of this thesis demonstrate that social structures such as history, culture, politics, and norms are important aspects in the decision- and law making of capital punishment in China and the Philippines. Obstacles identified are linked to the approach on the death penalty from the governments which, in both case studies, have a history of neglecting human rights issues. However, as China has started to reconsider their stand on capital punishment, the Philippine regime has implemented an even stricter approach on the death penalty which demonstrates that the matter of human rights issues regarding capital punishment, in the two case studies, is a complicated battle between retention and abolition and the contest of legitimacy.