Criminal
2017 Penal Code displaced by hudud and qisas punishments
The 2017 Penal Code, which had consolidated Afghan criminal law and excluded corporal punishment, is no longer the operative instrument. Judges apply hudud and qisas penalties including flogging and execution.
Governing law
- Penal Code (2017) — largely displaced in practice
- Criminal Procedure Code (2014) — application uncertain
In practice
Public floggings and executions have resumed and been officially confirmed. Defence-counsel access is limited, the licensed bar was dissolved, and there is no functioning appellate review comparable to the pre-2021 system. Reliable reporting of charges and sentences is scarce.