Page - 361 - in Menschenrechte und Gerechtigkeit als bleibende Aufgaben - Beiträge aus Religion, Theologie, Ethik, Recht und Wirtschaft

© 2020, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht GmbH & Co. KG, Göttingen ISBN Print: 9783847111658 – ISBN E-Lib: 9783737011655 theirabsolutepowerderived fromGod. It seems likean ironyofhistory that in thelate20thandearly21stcenturies,suchregimesgainpoweragaininmanyparts of theworld, aboveall in Islamic states. If governments again impose religious laws, this seems like fallingback into thedark timesof theMiddleAges. In the following,wewillexplainthisby therecent introductionofIslamiccriminal law inBrunei. 2. CaseStudyofBruneiDarussalam’sSyariahPenalCode 2.1. TheSyariahPenalCodeOrder2013 TheintroductionofBruneiDarussalam’sSyariahPenalCode(“SPCO”–Syariah beinganotherspellingforsharia)capturedtheworld’sattentionfortworeasons: Itcontainscorporalpunishments,whichareunusuallycruelandbrutal, suchas flogging,amputationandstoningtodeath;anditforeseesthesepunishmentsfor actswhich shouldnot be considered crimes at all.We shall analyse this Penal Codethroughthelensofinternationalhumanrights law,whoseuniversalityhas been affirmed in theUniversalDeclarationofHumanRights (“UDHR”) anda variety of binding international human rights treaties, including the Interna- tionalCovenantonCivilandPoliticalRights(ICCPR)of1966,theConventionon the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination againstWomen (CEDAW) of 1979or theConventionon theRights of theChild of 1989. Theuniversalityof human rights has also been reaffirmed in the 1993 Vienna Declaration and Programme ofAction,11 as well as the 2012HumanRights Declaration of the AssociationofSoutheastAsianNations (“ASEANDeclaration”).12 Brunei Darussalam (hereinafter referred to as “Brunei”), a former British protectoratewhichgainedindependencein1984,isgovernedbySultanHassanal Bolkiah, whowas proclaimed Sultan in 1967. The Sultan is oneof the last ab- solutistmonarchsontheplanet,holding theofficesofPrimeMinister,Minister ofDefence,MinisterofFinanceandEconomy,andMinisterofForeignAffairs.13 TheConstitutionofBrunei guarantees the Sultan supremeexecutive authority 11 WorldConferenceonHumanRights,ViennaDeclarationandProgrammeofActionof12July 1993,A/CONF.157/23,para. 5. 12 AssociationofSoutheastAsianNations,ASEANHumanRightsDeclarationof18November 2012,para.7. 13 PrimeMinister’s Office Brunei Darussalam, see: http://www.pmo.gov.bn/Pages/Prime-Mi nister.aspx(accessedonMay20th2019). The impactof religiononuniversalhumanrights inBrunei’sSyariahPenalCode 361 Open-Access-Publikation im Sinne der CC-Lizenz BY 4.0