HONOR CRIMES & THE JORDANIAN PENAL CODE Thi

This research paper discusses and analyzes the origins, including the legislative and judicial history, of Articles 340 and 98 of the Jordanian Penal Code, which sanction reduced sentences for, or total exculpation of, male perpetrators who commit 'honor killings' or other 'honor crimes' against female members of their families.

In response to international criticism of Jordan's traditionally lax approach to the prosecution and punishment of honor crime killers, the Jordanian government has recently attempted, with only partial success, to abolish Art. 340 and to increase the punishment meted out to such offenders. These efforts have engendered sharp controversy between the royal family of King Abdullah II and other modernizing elites, on the one hand, and more conservative Islamic factions, on the other. In particular these opposing forces disagree as to whether honor crimes are forbidden or mandated by Islamic religious law (shari'a).

Research indicates that Art. 340 is of mixed French, Turkish and Syrian origin. Art. 98 is a bastardized version of ancient French penal law. Since 1964, it has been given a restricted meaning by Jordan's highest court, the Court of Cassation, which has made the prosecution and punishment of honor killers extraordinarily difficult. It is unclear whether technically shari'a applies to honor crimes, but the pre-1999 approach of the Jordanian government and society toward the prosecution and puni

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A.D., Islamic law and traditions. According to Metz, "until the nineteenth century, the only source of law considered to be valid in controlling criminal activity in the region that was to become Jordan was Islamic religious law, or shari'a" (270). Turkish Influence. As part of the tanzimat or liberalizing reforms of the Ottoman Empire, Jordan became subject to the Ottoman Imperial Penal Code of 1858 which as amended governed criminal matters in Jordan until the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1917-18. However, Amin said that during this period "the Bedouin Arabs [of Jordan] remained out of Ottoman administrative and judicial control" (250). Although the Ottoman Penal Code of 1858 was powerfully influenced by the French Penal Code of 1810, Metz said that "in effect it complemented sharia inasmuch as the French code was modified to accommodate Muslim customs" (271). One Muslim custom that was evident in that Code and which later appeared in Art. 340 is the concept of subordination of females to male rule, as indicated by the use of the Ottoman terms "female unlawfuls" and "unlawful bed" (Abu-Odeh 289). Arnold said these concepts and terms "denote females who men can justifiably kill with full exemption from penalty" (1362)
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Approximate Word count = 2801
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page)