Islamic law in Aceh.

Islamic law in Aceh.

Hello again bloggers, now let’s discuss a bit about Aceh province Islamic law. The province of Aceh in Indonesia enforces some provisions of Islamic criminal law, the sole Indonesian province to do so. In Aceh, Islamic criminal law is called jinayat (an Arabic loanword). The laws that implement it are called Qanun Jinayat or Hukum Jinayat, roughly meaning "Islamic criminal code". Although the largely-secular laws of Indonesia apply in Aceh, the provincial government passed additional regulations, some derived from Islamic criminal law, after Indonesia authorized its provinces to enact regional regulations (perda) and granted Aceh special autonomy to implement Islamic law. Offences under the provisions include alcohol consumption, production and distribution, gambling, adultery, certain intimacies outside marriage, and certain homosexual acts. Punishments include caning, fines, and imprisonment. There is no provision for stoning; an attempt to introduce it in 2009 was vetoed by Governor Irwandi Yusuf. In 2016 Aceh processed 324 first instance court cases under Islamic criminal law, and carried out at least 100 caning sentences. Supporters of Islamic criminal law defend its legality under the special autonomy granted to Aceh, saying that it is covered by the freedom of religion of the people of Aceh. Critics, including Amnesty International, object to the use of caning as a punishment, as well as the criminalization of consensual sex outside marriage.

Provisions of Islamic law specific to Aceh are promulgated through qanuns, which have the legal status of perda (regional regulation). Their legal basis includes Indonesian laws authorizing perda, as well Law No. 11 of 2006, which mandated Islamic law in Aceh. A qanun requires approval from both the parliament of Aceh (Indonesian: Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Aceh, (DPRA) and the governor to become law. While the largely secular Indonesian national law still applies in Aceh, the qanuns cover offences not defined in the national law, and in some cases define a different punishment. The qanuns are subordinate to the Indonesian constitution and national laws, and are subject to judicial review in the Supreme Court or the Constitutional Court. This legal structure means that not all provisions of Islamic law apply in Aceh, but only the specific elements of it which have been legislated. It also means that legislation is carried out by the elected parliament and governor, not the ulema (Islamic scholars).