In Chen Li-feng's case, the Grand Justices ruled that the obligation of common residence violates the constitutional principle of equality between the sexes. However, they did not strike the law down immediately, but instead declared that it would "become invalid after one year at the lat est." Thus, according to the principle that the law should not be retroactive, this decision was of no help to Chen Li-feng.
針對陳麗鳳一案，大法官做出了「從夫居」違反憲法男女平等原則的解釋，但未宣佈法律立即失效，而是宣告「至遲一年內失效」，根據「法律不溯及既往」原則，陳麗鳳反而無法從中得到救濟。