Criminal
2014 Penal Code codified offences alongside retained hudud
The Penal Code 2014, in force from 2015, was a substantial modernisation drafted with comparative input. It codifies offences and defences while preserving hudud offences drawn directly from Islamic law.
Governing law
- Penal CodeLaw 9/2014
- Criminal Procedure ActLaw 12/2016
- Anti-Terrorism ActLaw 32/2015
- Drugs ActLaw 17/2011
In practice
The 2014 Code introduced a structured sentencing framework, mens rea categories and a general part of unusual sophistication for the region. Flogging remains available for fornication and is imposed. The death penalty exists in law and has been the subject of announced resumptions, but no execution has been carried out for decades. The 2016 Procedure Act codified arrest, detention and disclosure rules for the first time.