Islam, the Monarchy and Criminal Law in Brunei: The Syariah Penal Code Order 2013

Griffith Law Review (published online 2017)

Posted: 16 Mar 2017

See all articles by Kerstin Steiner

Kerstin Steiner

La Trobe Law School; Law School, The University of Melbourne

Timothy Lindsey

Centre for Indonesian Law, Islam and Society, Melbourne Law School

Date Written: January 27, 2017

Abstract

Efforts to expand the application of Islamic criminal law in Muslim majority states to implement hudud laws present governments with difficult choices between modern human rights norms and conservative local understandings of Islamic tradition. The governments of Muslim majority countries in Southeast Asia used to be very reluctant to embrace hudud but that has begun to change in recent decades. In Brunei, the introduction of a sweeping and conservative Syariah Penal Code Order that includes hudud punishments, such as amputation and stoning to death, has been driven by this tiny oil-rich state’s absolute monarchy. It sees the Code as further entrenching the state ideology of ‘Malay Muslim Monarchy’ and thus its own legitimacy. The Sultan has trenchantly rejected external rights-based criticisms and threatened domestic critics with prosecution, although implementation of the more severe provisions and punishments of the Code have been delayed. This paper discusses the legal and political implications of Brunei’s Syariah Penal Code Order. Situating the Code in the historical and political context of Islamic law in Brunei, the Code itself is described, locating it within contemporary politics. After considering the controversies the Code has provoked, the article speculates on whether it will ever be fully implemented.

Keywords: Brunei, Islamic Law, Islamic Criminal Law, Politics and Law, Relationship between Islam law and the state

Suggested Citation

Steiner, Kerstin and Lindsey, Timothy, Islam, the Monarchy and Criminal Law in Brunei: The Syariah Penal Code Order 2013 (January 27, 2017). Griffith Law Review (published online 2017), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2908577

Kerstin Steiner (Contact Author)

La Trobe Law School ( email )

La Trobe University
Bundoora, VIC 3083 3142
Australia

Law School, The University of Melbourne ( email )

185 Pelham Street
Carlton, Victoria 3053
Australia

Timothy Lindsey

Centre for Indonesian Law, Islam and Society, Melbourne Law School ( email )

Melbourne Law School
185 Pelham Street
University of Melbourne, VIC, 3010
Australia
+61 3 834 48134 (Phone)
+61 3 8344 4546 (Fax)

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