Presidential Decree Law No. 12 of 1994 concerning Crimes and Penalties.

The Yemeni Penal Code, comprising 325 articles, is structured into major Books and sections outlining definitions, legal principles, and criminal liabilities. The General Principles define the state’s territory to include land, waters, airspace, and national ships or aircraft wherever located, and broadly classify public servants and public entities. They establish key legal principles, including personal criminal liability, legality of crimes and punishments, and territorial jurisdiction over crimes committed within the state or, in some cases, abroad. The Law also applies the principle of retroactivity in favor of the accused, allowing newer and more lenient laws to apply before a final judgment is issued. The law recognizes several grounds for justification and exemption from criminal liability, including actions performed in the lawful exercise of a right, duty, or authority, and legitimate self-defense against imminent threats to life, honor, or property. The use of lethal force in self-defense is limited to serious threats such as death, severe injury, kidnapping, or violent property crimes. The law also provides special treatment for minors, exempting children under seven from criminal liability, subjecting juveniles aged seven to fifteen to reform measures, and imposing reduced penalties on offenders aged fifteen to eighteen.
The Code addresses serious environmental offenses as crimes against public safety, water resources, and the national economy. Article 140 provides that any person who intentionally endangers human life or public health by placing toxic or harmful substances in territorial waters, ports, wells, water tanks, or other facilities intended for public use shall be punished by imprisonment for a period not exceeding ten years. Article 147 criminalizes the intentional destruction, sabotage, or damage of critical infrastructure intended to undermine the national economy, including sabotage of watercourses and dams. It also includes general provisions that penalize acts of public endangerment, such as the pollution of public water sources and the use of hazardous chemical or explosive materials that pose a threat to human life and the environment.
Concerning the protection of food safety and, consequently, public health, Article 312 of the Code provides for imprisonment or a fine for any person who adulterates, or attempts to adulterate, food intended for human or animal consumption, medicinal products, agricultural produce, or natural products intended for sale, as well as for anyone who knowingly offers or sells such adulterated or spoiled products. The same article further penalizes the sale, distribution, or offering of substances used to adulterate food, medicines, agricultural produce, or natural products in a manner inconsistent with their legitimate use. The penalty is doubled where the adulterating substances are harmful to human or animal health.