[jevoten]

So either article 5 of the constitution trumps article 287 so completely that 287 is legally dead and it would make no difference if it was erased entirely, or you better hope you get a judge sympathetic to your cause. I.e. stay in the good graces of your superiors.

[throwawaysugar]

Article 287 is in the Penal Code, not in the Constitution. The constitution is the top dog in the legal hierarchy. The Penal Code is pretty high up there and trumps thinks like local laws.

Some laws are written in such a way that, eventually, when put to the test and being presented to the Supreme Court, which judges matters of constitutionality, they may indeed be declared void for being unconstitutional. That has never happened for article 287 of the penal code, although it may one day. You'd need an actual case to make that claim, though.

There are no "superiors", except for the constitution.

The law as written doesn't take into account whether the Supreme Court judges are corrupt or politically appointed/influenced. The law spells out what "ought to be", not what "is".

[jevoten]

> That has never happened for article 287 of the penal code, although it may one day. You'd need an actual case to make that claim, though.

Ok, so unless article 287 has literally never been used, my fear is valid.

> There are no "superiors", except for the constitution.

I was referring to the defense of "oh but they'd never use this overreaching law badly". If the law is too vague or broad, those interpreting it become your superiors, since they get such wide latitude.