The Republic of Yemen, as how the state of Yemen is officially known, it a country located in the Middle East, being a land area of more than 500 thousands square kilometers. It is the home for more than 20 million people. Its territory includes around 200 islands, of which the biggest is Socotra. The capital of Yemen is Sana’a, its biggest city.
Regarding Yemen laws, it is the only state in the Arabian Peninsula that has a purely republican form of government. However, it is said that Yemen Laws, especially Human Rights, are sometimes not followed strictly, as the government’s security forces are often considered to suffer from corruption, while being responsible for torture and extrajudicial executions. Thus, regarding Yemen laws, several arrests were making arbitrary, as well as some searches of homes.
Yemen’s laws, including its constitution, stipulate that Islamic law is their source of all legislation. Therefore, almost all laws have their roots in old Egyptian laws. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty, but this is not always put in practice. Most of the trials are conducted without juries, while judges decide and adjudicate criminal cases. However, women are often discriminated.
Yemen laws, as well as its judiciary system, are considered rather weak, as corruption is widespread and judges are subject to pressure and harassment from tribal leaders.
However, the government tries to repair Yemen laws flaws, as they initiated a judicial reform program back in 1997. Unfortunately, no significant improvement was seen in the functioning of the system, and there was no proof or evidence that the reform program has reduced the level of corruption. Another issue, which existed in Yemen laws, was the one of children marriages. However, it has been addressed and now the Yemen laws clearly stipulate that it is forbidden to get married until the age of seventeen.