PENAL CODE - SOMALILAND LAW

1 PENAL code LEGISLATIVE DECREE NO. 5 OF 16 December 1962 This code is still applied in the republic of SOMALILAND and in the northern Somalia region of Puntland. It is still current in South and Central Somalia. The code which is based on the Italian PENAL code of 1930 was initially drafted by the Italian Somalia Court of Justice in 1957 and was finalised by special Legal Committee in 1962. The code was approved by Legislative Decree in December 1962, but came into force on 3 April 1964 when it replaced the 1930 Italian code then applicable in Somalia and the Indian PENAL code of 1860 which was applied in SOMALILAND .

2 This is the semi-official English Language translation of the code which was published in Italian, and was undertaken to make the code accessible to English language speakers in SOMALILAND . American lawyer, Martin R. Ganzglass, described this translation as being confusing, ungrammatical, and often incorrect and I would recommend anyone able to do so to refer to the book written by Mr Ganzglass titled The PENAL code of the Somali Democratic republic with Cases, Commentary and Examples , Rutgers University Press 1971, which is still available.

3 Occasionally numbers in square brackets appear in the text of the code . These refer to the relevant articles of: a) the Somali republic 1961 Constitution (denoted as Const. ) which is no longer applicable to either SOMALILAND or Somalia; or b) the PENAL code itself (denoted as ); or c) the Criminal Procedure code (denoted as ). So far as the SOMALILAND is concerned, under Artic le 130 of the SOMALILAND Constitution any provisions of this code which are contrary to the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual and to Islamic Sharia shall be disapplied.

4 All provisions which are in effect repealed by SOMALILAND Constitution are also null and void. All references therefore to the Somali republic or to the constitution, territory and institutions of that state should be read as referring to the the republic of SOMALILAND or its territory or institutions. The fines set out in the code have been revised and SOMALILAND courts use updated scales in SOMALILAND Shillings. As expected of a law which is essentially based on the 1930s code of a then fascist state, there are, despite the changes made by the Legislation Committee of 1961/2, many provisions of this code which do not sit comfortably with modern concepts of human rights.

5 SOMALILAND courts and lawyers would need to examine many of the provisions of this code to see how compatible they are with the individual rights and freedoms enshrined in the SOMALILAND Constitution and the citizens rights to critic ise, question and condemn the actions and deeds of their elected and unelected officials without be ing punished under outdated offences. Lower courts should be willing to refer, under Artic le 15 of the Organisation of the Judiciary Law 2003/6 to the Constitutional Court any issues which raise the constitutionality of the PENAL code s provisions, and the Constitutional Court must, unlike in the past, be more strident in exercising its jurisdiction in this respect until such time the code is updated.

6 ( acknowledges receipt of this scanned copy of the PENAL code from the UNDP ROLS Programme). Editor THE PENAL code INDEX OF THE PARTS Note: The page numbering of this electronic English Language copy of the code is not sequential as the original published text it was based on had alternate pages in Italian and English languages. PARTS BOOK I: OFFENCES IN GENERAL PART 1: THE PENAL LAW (GENERAL PROVISIONS) PART 11: OFFENCES PART III: THE OFFENDER AND THE PARTY INJURED PART IV: PUNISHMENT PART V: EXTINCTION OF OFFENCE AND PUNISHMENT PART VI: CIVIL SANCTIONS PART VII: SECURITY MEASURES BOOK II: CRIMES PART I: CRIMES AGAINST THE PERSONALITY OF THE STATE PART II: CRIMES AGAINST THE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION PART III: CRIMES AGAINST THE COURSE OF JUSTICE PART IV.

7 CRIMES AGAINST RELIGIOUS FEELINGS AND REVERENCE FOR THE DEAD PART V: CRIMES AGAINST PUBLIC ORDER PART VI: CRIMES AGAINST PUBLIC SAFETY PART VII: CRIMES RELATING TO ABUSE OF THE GOOD FAITH OF THE PUBLIC PART VII: CRIMES AGAINST NATIONAL ECONOMY, ARTICLES 1 - 14 15 46 47 - 89 90 142 143 157 158 160 161 183 184 217 240 281 282 312 313 319 320 328 329 347 348 397 PAGES 117 123 123 137 137 151 151 175 175 181 1 81 181 183 192 193 - 217 219 237 237 251 251 253 253 255 257 263 263 283 INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE PART IX: CRIMES AGAINST MORALS AND DECENCY PART X: CRIMES AGAINST THE HEALTH OF THE HUMAN RACE PART XI: CRIMES AGAINST THE FAMIILY PART XII.

8 CRIMES AGAINST THE PERSON AND SAFETY OF INDIVIDUALS PART XIII: CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY BOOK III: CONTRAVENTIONS PART I: CONTRAVENTIONS RELATING TO PUBLIC ORDER AND PUBLIC TRANQUILITY PART II: CONTRAVENTIONS CONCERNING PUBLIC SAFETY PART III: CONTRAVENTIONS CONCERNING THE PREVENTION OF CERTAIN CASES OF OFFENCES PART IV: CONTRAVENTIONS RELATING TO MORALS AND DECENCY PART IV: CONTRAVENTIONS AGAINST PUBLIC HEALTH 387 397 398 417 418 424 425 433 434 479 480 504 505 523 524 533 534 552 553 562 563 - 565 279 283 283 291 291 291 293 295 297 315 317 328 329 335 337 339 341 347 347 351 351 - 351 ; of30 January1962delegatingtotheGovernmentthep owertoissue,amongotherlaws,a PenalCode;HAVINGSEEN thefinaltextofthePenalCodedraftedbytheCo m-missionreferredto in article2 of thesaidlaw;HAVINGHEARDtheCouncilofMinist ers.

9 ONTHEPROPOSAL oftheMinisterofGraceandJustice; shallcomeintoforcesixmonthsafteritspubli cationin, , ,opento thepublic, , of3 February1956,andanyotherprovisioncontrar yto,orincompatiblewiththePenalCode,arehe rebyabrogated, , adinterim>?ABDIRIZAKHAG!HUSSENM inisterofGraceandJusticeAHMEDGHELLEHASSA NBOOKIOFFENCESIN GENERALPART ITHE PENAL LAWArt. 1.(Offencesand Punishment toBe ExpresslyProvided byLaw).-No oneshall be punished for an act which is not expresslymade an offence [15, 23 ] by law,nor witha punishment [90, ]wich isnotprescribed therefore [42,43, 44,45 Canst.]

10 ]. (Time at which PENAL Laws Take Effect). oneshall bepunishedforanactwhich,inaccordance with thelaw inferceat the time when it wascommitted, did notconstitute an offence [42 Const.].2. - No oneshall be punishedfor anact which,in accordancewitha subsequent law,does not constitute an offence;andif he hasalreadybeen convicted and sentenced,theexecution andthe penaiconsequencesof such convictionand sentence shall - If thelaw inforceat the timewhenan offence was committedandthesubsequent lawdiffer, that law shall be applied theprovisionsof whichare more favourable to the accused,unless the convictionandsentence have become - Inthecase ofexceptional ortemporarylaws,theprovisions ofthe two precedingparagraphsshallnot 3.