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The Role of Law in Yemen
Abstract
This paper will examine the function of law, writ large as a societal system for resolving disputes and maintaining order, in contemporary Yemen. Specifically, it will seek to answer the central question of whether the rule of law exists in Yemen and, if so, how it currently functions within Yemeni society. This issue has been treated to some extent previously through anthropological approaches to analyzing tribal law (‘urf). However, this paper will take a more jurisprudential approach and focus on the forms, perceptions, and positions of legal systems in modern Yemen. While this necessarily incorporates the prevalent and arguably resurgent area of tribal law, the paper will give preference to analyzing the influence of other extant but latent or embryonic forms of law, such as court systems, private agreements, mediation, and quasi-government structures. These forms of legal systems exist and some currently carry substantial weight in the country. The paper will also look at less tangible, less identifiable forms of restraint or coercion which may occasionally function as law. The paper will specifically treat law in the context of the political agreement governing the transition of power from Yemen’s previous president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, to a new era of political power under the leadership of Abd Rabbo Mansour al-Hadi. What role(s) did Yemeni law play, formally or informally, in this agreement? The methodology for this paper relies on firsthand experience interacting with Yemen’s court systems through litigation, empirical witness of events normally governed by law in other countries, and personal interviews with judges, attorneys, government officials, and youth involved with the current revolution in the country. Analysis will gauge the impact of law on decision-making, and how the discipline of law influences perception of the country’s stability across generations and political lines. Reference will be made to the significant works of Paul Dresch, Sheila Carapico, and Shelagh Weir, among others. The paper will seek to provide a brief survey of the current state of Yemeni law, an examination of whether scholars can speak of “law” as a unified system in Yemen generally, a ranking of which legal systems are currently most most trusted and/or respected by Yemeni citizens and a specific answer to whether the rule of law was present in the nation’s recent political agreements.
Discipline
Law
Geographic Area
Yemen
Sub Area
Middle East/Near East Studies