application of the Sharia punishable penalty prescribed for adultery which the convict
admits even in his petition brought forward before us. Obviously, the application of
Article (149) beside Article (86) is forbidden because the rule here is to apply the
strongest description and no room for the application of Article (86) of the Child Act in
isolation from Sharia punishable penalty.
I conclude from the foregoing that the victim is not a child so that the Child Act may be
applicable to the convict. This has been wrongfully excluded from indictment sheet by
the Prosecution. There is no way for remedying this and it should not have been
excluded from listening to the claim despite the importance of her statements if the
sexual intercourse is a rape.
Finally, the Criminal Court, in view of the convict`s admission of adultery together with
the adoption of his admission and convicting him, has committed an error when it
omitted the application of the provision of Article (144) of Criminal Act.
Until the trial proceedings are corrected, I am of the opinion that the Appeal Court
judgment and the judgment of the Criminal Court in terms of conviction and punishment
must be cancelled and order to rearrest the convict along with returning the papers to
the criminal Court for listening to the victim`s statements and proceed with the trial
procedures taking the contents of this memorandum as a guidance.
Mahgoub Al Amin Al Faki
Supreme Court Judge
26/04/2011
I agree and add that the trial judge Sayed Ahmed Yousef should have to be praised for
his searching and diligence but we reply to him that although he relied upon Para (4) to
Article 6 (4) and the general provisions for 1974, Para (2) of the same Law provides that
if any provision in any law is in contradiction with any of the constitution provisions, the
provisions of the constitution shall prevail to the extent which removes such
contradiction. Article (5) of Sudan Transitional Constitution for 2005 establishes the
sources of legislations as Para (1) of the said Article provides that Sharia and consensus are
the sources of legislations which are enacted at the national level and applied to the
States of North Sudan.
Article (8) of the Law provides that responsibility shall only be undertaken by the
competent person and the competent person is the mature and sane person.
Article (9) of the same Law provides that the young who is immature shall not be
deemed to have committed a crime. The word “mature” according to Article (3) of the
Law means the person whose attainment of puberty is proved by physical signs and has
completed fifteen years of his age, and whoever completes the eighteen years of his ages
shall be regarded as mature even though the physical signs have not appeared thereon.