Criminal law in Yemen

Yemen has an established formal criminal-law system, but no single pathway can be assumed to operate uniformly throughout the country. The internationally recognized Government structures, parallel or de facto judicial structures in Sana'a and northern areas, and Southern Transitional Council-linked areas may apply different procedures in practice. The controlling authority, the location of the alleged offence and the operating court therefore affect access, timing and the reliability of legal safeguards. The main legal texts are the Penal Code Law No. 12/1994 and the Criminal Procedure Law No. 13/1994. The Public Prosecution leads the criminal action, while police and Judicial Enforcement officers gather evidence and carry out investigative measures. A usual formal pathway begins with a report or complaint, continues through investigation and indictment, and proceeds to a first-instance criminal court, an appeal court and the Supreme Court. Public Prosecution generally has exclusive authority to initiate and manage criminal proceedings, except for offences that require a private complaint. A victim or complainant may join the criminal case and may claim compensation for crime-related harm alongside the criminal proceedings. The claim may be filed with the complaint, before the police or Public Prosecution, or during the trial. Diya is monetary compensation connected with killing or bodily harm, while arsh is compensation for specified bodily injuries. A court may also consider treatment costs, lost income and other proven losses. The National Commission to Investigate Alleged Violations of Human Rights, known as NCIAVHR, receives and investigates complaints about conflict-related violations and can provide confidentiality and pursue redress, but it does not replace a criminal court. Formal safeguards include personal criminal responsibility, the principle that no offence or penalty exists without Sharia or law, protection against retroactive criminal penalties and the presumption of innocence. An arrested person should receive the reason for arrest, be able to inspect the warrant where one exists, notify a chosen person and request a lawyer during investigation and trial. Arrest normally requires a warrant, subject to limited cases of flagrante delicto. The person should be brought before a court or prosecutor within 24 hours. Public Prosecution custody lasting more than seven days requires a judicial order. Statements obtained through coercion are legally invalid, and searches of homes or private communications generally require a warrant. Formal time limits do not consistently reflect practice. An investigation is targeted for completion within two months, and the statutory investigation ceiling is six months, with a possible further six-month extension by the General Prosecutor. Pretrial detention requires judicial extensions and has a formal total ceiling of six months within the applicable pre-referral structure. Criminal complaints that require a private complaint generally must be filed within four months after the complainant learns of the offence and offender, unless a coercive impediment ends later. No verified nationwide flat fee applies to the criminal complaint pathway; civil claims can be subject to civil-procedure fees, and courts may assess witness expenses or compensation. Criminal sanctions include imprisonment, fines, confiscation, supervision or monitoring, treatment placement and ta'zir, a discretionary punishment imposed within the legal framework. Qisas permits retribution for certain intentional offences, while a victim's family may sometimes pardon or accept diya instead. Hudud refers to specified punishments recognized in classical Islamic criminal law. Yemeni law retains the death penalty for a broad range of offences, including intentional murder and some state-security, abduction, brigandage, narcotics, religious and public-morals offences. A formal execution requires a final judgment and presidential ratification. Formal law restricts execution in certain pregnancy and lactation situations. Death sentences and execution-related provisions remain a serious human-rights risk, and United Nations reporting documented death sentences issued by a de facto Sana'a court in 2024. Criminal responsibility is excluded for children below seven years. A child aged seven to under fifteen should receive measures under the Juvenile Welfare Law rather than an ordinary criminal penalty. A person aged fifteen to under eighteen is subject to no more than half of the statutory maximum, and a death-penalty offence leads instead to imprisonment of three to ten years. The Juvenile Welfare Law defines a juvenile as under fifteen, creating a gap for some people aged fifteen to under eighteen who may receive adult treatment. Police detention of children under twelve is prohibited except for protective placement lasting no more than 24 hours; police holding for children aged twelve or older is also limited to 24 hours. Juvenile courts or designated facilities operate in places including Taiz, Hadramout, Ibb, Hodeidah and Dhamar, but adult-prison detention, arbitrary detention, weak legal aid, age-verification problems and inadequate facilities remain documented risks. Traffic offences are governed principally by Traffic Law No. 46/1991 and its amendments. Traffic courts have been established in Sana'a, Aden, Taiz, Hadramout, Hodeidah and Dhamar. They may handle criminal road-crash cases, traffic violations, fines, diya, arsh and compensation; elsewhere, ordinary first-instance courts and appellate criminal chambers may handle the matter. Court coverage depends on territorial control, security and whether the relevant court is operating. Yemen has no verified enacted stand-alone cybercrime law in the reviewed primary sources. Digital conduct may instead fall under the general Penal Code and sector-specific electronic or payment provisions. A draft law on combating electronic crimes was under joint review by the Sana'a Ministry of Justice and human-rights bodies in April 2026, but it was not an enacted equivalent at that date. In conflict-affected areas, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, torture, unofficial detention facilities, political or security detention, denial of counsel, in-absentia judgments and weak cross-examination can substantially impair the formal safeguards.