Criminal
Capital punishment, political prison camps and no independent defence
The Criminal Law provides for the death penalty for a range of offences including those framed as political. UN bodies have found a system of political prison camps operating outside any judicial process.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — People's courts exist on paper; the State Security Department operates a parallel detention system reported to be outside them.
Governing law
- Criminal Law of the DPRK1950, extensively amended
- Criminal Procedure Law of the DPRK
Penalties and consequences
- Death penalty, including for offences framed as political or ideological
- Reform through labour, and detention in kwanliso political prison camps
In practice
The published procedure law contains provisions on defence and appeal, but the Commission of Inquiry concluded that political cases are handled administratively by security agencies with no trial at all, and that camp detention extends to family members under a guilt-by-association practice. There is no independent bar, and defence counsel is state-assigned where it exists. The Commission found that these acts constitute crimes against humanity, and the Security Council has been urged to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court.