Yemen

• The Constitution of 1991, as amended, the highest law
• Islamic law (Sharia), which the Constitution makes the source of all legislation
• Statutes such as the Civil Code, the Personal Status Law and the Penal Code
• Customary law and tribal custom, in many areas

• The Supreme Court, with a constitutional division
• Courts of appeal
• Primary courts, and specialised courts for commerce and criminal matters

A law or Sharia degree and a licence from the Ministry of Justice, with membership of the Lawyers' Syndicate.

• Tribal custom is a strong force in many parts of the country, beside state law.
• Since the conflict began, different authorities control different regions and courts.
• Its law was formed from the union of two different legal systems, the north and the south, in 1990.

Saudi Arabia, Oman, Egypt, Somalia, Djibouti

The University of Ottawa’s JuriGlobe database lists Yemen as: Muslim, Civil law, Common law, Customary. It names the systems in order of importance.

The map colours a country by the first-named system, and shows both civil-law and common-law countries as “mixed”. It is a simplification, and real systems are rarely pure.

Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei, Egypt, Gambia, Iran, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman.

• JuriGlobe: world legal systems (University of Ottawa)
• Constitute Project: constitution of Yemen

Sources last reviewed: October 2026.