Criminal
A French-derived penal code with Islamic elements in personal matters
The Penal Code derives from French law as received and amended, and applies to all criminal matters. Islamic law is applied in personal status rather than criminal law, though qadi courts historically exercised wider jurisdiction.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Tribunaux de première instance and the Cour d'appel; the Cour suprême reviews.
- Deadline — Garde à vue: 48 hours, extendable
- Deadline — Appeal: within the statutory period from judgment
Governing law
- Code pénal comorienas received and amended
- Code de procédure pénale
- Loi relative à la lutte contre le blanchiment
In practice
Comorian criminal law is French in form, but the qadis remain part of the judicial structure and the boundary between their personal-status jurisdiction and the ordinary criminal courts is the practical question that recurs, particularly in family violence cases.