Criminal law in Sanama

Criminal law in Sanama is a concern for the union government. Following the abolishment of the federal and communalist system in 1707, what had previously been a partially fractured criminal law system became nationalised. There was also a shift in focus from reconciliation under the communalists to rehabilitation and, for the most severe crimes, punishment. However, reconciliation remained an option for many less severe crimes. The SDP post-1707 considered the broad application of reconciliation under the communalists, for crimes such as domestic abuse, assault and in a few cases rape, to be ill-advised and against the general public sense of justice.

In 1709 a new criminal code was passed into law, receiving presidential assent on 20.IV.1709. The new criminal code usually divide sentencing guidelines into degrees, based on the severity of the crime and recidivism. The rationale behind this is that first-time low level offenders should primarily be rehabilitated, with longer prison terms reserved for severe crimes and multiple repeat offenders. Certain crimes, such as rape, also carry a potential penalty of treatment, where the perpetrator remains in a mental health facility until the risk of recidivism is sufficiently low. Violent repeat offenders can also be sentenced to indetermined custody, which ends when a board of professionals deem the risk of recidivism to be low. This differs from the sentence of life imprisonment, which require a presidential pardon or commutation to end.