Procedures
A civil code drawn from sharia, applied by divided courts
The Civil Code of 2002 codifies obligations on an explicitly sharia basis. Procedure follows the 2002 Civil Procedure Law, but court function varies sharply by area of control.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Courts of First Instance, Appeal Courts and Supreme Court, operating separately in the two control areas.
- Deadline — 30 days to appeal a civil judgment where courts are functioning
- Deadline — 60 days to appeal to the Supreme Court
Governing law
- Civil Code, Law 14 of 2002
- Civil Procedure Law, Law 40 of 2002
- Law 1 of 1991 on the Judicial Authority
In practice
The Yemeni Civil Code is unusual among Arab civil codes in deriving its provisions directly from fiqh rather than from the Egyptian and French model, so it reads differently from its neighbours and comparative reasoning from Egypt is less reliable. Enforcement is the practical problem: judgments depend on the cooperation of authorities in the relevant territory, tribal arbitration and customary mediation handle a large share of disputes outside the courts entirely, and in many areas customary settlement is the effective forum rather than an alternative to it.