Criminal
A sharia-based penal code including hudud penalties
The Crimes and Penalties Law of 1994 includes hudud and qisas alongside codified offences. Enforcement differs between the two areas of control.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Criminal courts in both control areas, plus specialised criminal courts. Military and security detention operates outside the ordinary system in both.
- Deadline — 24 hours for police to bring a detainee before a prosecutor where the process functions
- Deadline — 30 days to appeal a criminal conviction
Governing law
- Crimes and Penalties Law, Law 12 of 1994
- Criminal Procedure Law, Law 13 of 1994
In practice
The 1994 law provides for hudud penalties including amputation and stoning and for the death penalty, and qisas gives victims' families a formal role including the power to pardon in homicide cases. The minimum age of criminal responsibility and the treatment of juveniles are areas of documented concern. Arbitrary detention by armed actors on both sides is extensively reported by UN bodies and operates outside the statutory framework, so the code describes the law without describing what happens. This entry is research rather than reviewed for that reason.