Yemen Legal Profile

Proelium Law LLP

Yemen Legal System Overview

The Yemeni legal system is a mixed system of Islamic Law, Napoleonic law, customary law and English common law, although the system is, in reality, in flux. The constitution is supreme in Yemen, which is explicitly stated in the 2015 Draft Constitution.

Nevertheless, this was rejected by the Houthi side, who prefer a two-region solution which allows them to dominate northern Yemen, over the proposed six-region federal system. As such, currently the 2001 Constitution remains the de facto supreme law.

The role of Islam in the Yemeni legal system is clearly defined in both texts: Islam is the state religion and Islamic Sharia is defined as the source of legislation. Currently the House of Representatives holds full legislative power, but under the 2015 Draft a bicameral system is suggested, with a House of Representatives and a Federal Council forming the National Assembly. Article 149 of the current Constitution defines the independence of the judiciary and its autonomous nature.

Nevertheless, the judiciary faces serious problems over its independence. Judicial corruption is widespread with bribes and irregular payments often being exchanged for favourable court rulings.

Patronage systems also interfere, particularly in commercial disputes, whilst the judiciary is highly susceptible to political interference. Anti-corruption legislation has major loopholes and it is poorly enforced.

Furthermore, the state judiciary is weak and in much of rural Yemen, customary tribal law is resorted to, with cases settled by tribal elites. This system is widely seen by Yemenis as more transparent, efficient and effective than the state judiciary.

Major domestic legislation includes the 1992 Civil Code. It covers a wide range of topics including contracts, torts, sale of goods, insurance, tenancy and possession.

The Code also grants specified limits to which judges may apply Sharia and customary law in civil cases: the implementation and interpretation of these though lies with each individual judge. The Civil Procedure Code lays out the provisions relating to the enforcement of local and foreign judgements, although the latter are rarely enforced: Yemen is not a signatory to the 1958 New York Convention.

Meanwhile, the Criminal Code defines the scope of punishment for a range of offenses; These can include capital punishment for Islamic hudûd offenses, such as apostasy and blasphemy, although this rarely occurs.

Nevertheless, the rule of law is weak and highly geographically dependent. Arbitrary arrests and abuse of power by law enforcement officials occur across the country, whilst extra-judicial detention centres have been reported in Houthi territory.

Yemen is a signatory to a number of international treaties, such as the Geneva Convention, United Nations Convention Against Corruption and the Biological and Chemical Weapons Conventions.

Yemen is also a member of a number of international organisations including the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, World Health Organisation and the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes.

Despite the 2001 Constitution and 2015 Draft conforming adherence to ‘generally recognised’ principles of international law, such as humans rights, violations have been found to occur, and overall the current political situation means adherence to international law is poor.