Criminal Penal Law

The Criminal Penal Law constitutes the Yemeni criminal justice framework. The law categorizes various crimes—including national security-related crimes—and associated penalties. The law is composed of 352 articles divided into 4 main chapters and 13 sub-chapters that address the following themes:

1- General provisions, and terminologies (Chapters 1-3): Provides an elaborate description of the basic definitions (e.g., public official, territory) and also includes details for elements of crime (intent, negligence, etc.), in addition to types of crimes and criminal liability.

2- Penalties (Chapters 4-7): Provides a comprehensive illustration of types of penalties (such as death, stoning, imprisonment, amputation) related to different crimes. Includes provisions stemming from Sharia law and establishes legal procedures to execute/implement penalties.

3- Context specific crimes (Chapters 8-13): Details types of crimes, such as public (treason, espionage), national security, economic (fraud, sabotage), justice (obstruction of justice, perjury), property (theft, robbery). Includes penalties for illegal practices such as prostitution and gambling.

Regarding specific linkages to the ‘Children and Armed Conflict’ agenda, Article 127 criminalizes recruitment and use of children and establishes specific penalties for those facilitating or assisting efforts to recruit and use children. The law also includes multiple provisions—Articles 31, 249, 252, 269, and 272— that emphasize child protection and establish penalties for crimes against children, such as kidnapping, sexual assault/exploitation, taking the child’s best interest into account.

Regarding implementation, the lack of effective implementing structures has compromised the efficacy of the laws, as there is no single enforcing entity in the country. Furthermore, the conflict that escalated in Yemen in 2015 has undermined the legal infrastructure in the country.^[1]

^[1] For more details, see Mohammed Alshuwaiter, “The Impact of the War on Yemen’s Justice System,” International Legal Assistance Consortium, November 2021, http://ilacnet.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/The-Impact-of-the-War-on-Yemens-Justice-System.pdf.