Criminal
Penal Code Act 2010 codifying formerly Roman-Dutch common-law crimes
The Penal Code Act 6 of 2010 codified the substantive criminal law, which had previously rested on Roman-Dutch common-law crimes supplemented by statute. The death penalty remains available for murder and treason but no execution has been carried out since 1995. Procedure follows the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act 1981.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Subordinate courts try most offences; the High Court hears murder; the Court of Appeal is final.
- Deadline — Arrested person brought before a court within 48 hours
Governing law
- Penal Code Act 6 of 2010
- Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act 9 of 1981
- Sexual Offences Act 3 of 2003
In practice
Codification in 2010 placed Lesotho with Zimbabwe as a Roman-Dutch jurisdiction that has replaced judge-made crimes with a statutory code, in contrast to Botswana and Namibia where the common-law crimes survive.