Introduction

Throughout history, human societies have used coercive measures against those who have transgressed protected societal interests. These interests have at times reflected certain social values, whereas, at other times, they merely reinforced the interests of elites. Even though criminal justice systems across the world have varied, over time they have come to share common characteristics that made it possible to broadly classify them into families based on similarities between processes and norms. Eventually the contemporary families of legal systems emerged, some based on a customary approach, others on a codified approach, and yet others on religious norms. Notwithstanding the differences between the various criminal justice systems throughout history, they have all shared the same components, namely, normative provisions, procedural rules, evidentiary requirements, and applicable sanctions. The Islamic criminal justice system is no different, as it contains all four of these components and shares a number of similarities with other systems. Notwithstanding these similarities, the Islamic criminal justice system has its peculiarities and unique complexities that are derived, in large part, from its sources in the Qur’ān and the sunna, as well as the fiqh that derives from these sources. These peculiarities and complexities are also derived from its relationship to concepts of human social justice. But, it is not a comprehensive system as is the case of the Romanist-Civilist family of legal systems. Instead, it more closely resembles the common law system.