Brunei's Dual Legal System of Sharia and Civil Law

Brunei operates two parallel legal systems. Alongside its existing civil code, inherited in large part from the British colonial and protectorate period, the country implemented a Sharia Penal Code in stages between 2014 and 2019, applying it to Muslims and, on many of its provisions, to non-Muslims and foreigners as well. The code prescribes penalties including amputation and death by stoning for offenses such as theft, adultery and apostasy, provisions that drew international attention and diplomatic criticism when the final stage took effect in 2019.

No sentence of amputation or stoning has been carried out under the Sharia Penal Code since its introduction, and the government has stated that strict evidentiary requirements, among them multiple eyewitnesses to certain offenses, make such penalties difficult to apply in practice. The civil code continues to handle most ordinary criminal and commercial matters for Muslims and non-Muslims alike, leaving Brunei with a dual system in which the two codes run side by side rather than one fully replacing the other.