Criminal
The 1991 Criminal Act, substantially amended in 2020, in a context of mass atrocity
The Criminal Act 1991 introduced hudud punishments and the public-order offences that defined the Bashir era. The 2020 amendments repealed apostasy, restricted flogging and criminalised FGM, but the current conflict features large-scale atrocity crimes.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — National. The International Criminal Court retains jurisdiction over Darfur by virtue of UN Security Council Resolution 1593 (2005).
Governing law
- Criminal Act 1991
- Miscellaneous Amendments (Fundamental Rights and Freedoms) Act 2020
- Criminal Procedure Act 1991
- Rome Statute — Sudan signed but has not ratified
In practice
Two things must be stated together. The 1991 Act is an Islamised penal code providing hudud punishments including amputation and stoning, and it carried broad public-order offences used extensively against women; the 2020 reforms narrowed that considerably, repealing apostasy and abolishing flogging for most offences. Separately and more gravely, the ICC has jurisdiction over Darfur through Security Council referral, has convicted Ali Kushayb, and has outstanding warrants including for Omar al-Bashir on genocide charges; the current SAF-RSF war has generated new ICC investigation into Darfur and extensive documentation of ethnically targeted mass killing and sexual violence. Domestic criminal justice capacity in the conflict zones is not functioning in any verifiable way, so this entry does not describe an operating enforcement system.