Justice reformed as Afghans modernise their legal system

If a 51-year-old American incarcerated in the Afghan capital, Kabul, was to be tried and convicted under Islamic law, he could face either of two punishments - have a wall demolished over him or be flung from the top of the tallest building in town. His alleged crime: sodomy.

But fortunately for Vins White, when his case comes up for trial in Afghanistan's barely functioning judicial system, it will almost certainly be under a new, secular criminal procedure code.

Unlike the ousted Taleban regime, the transitional administration of President Hamid Karzai would not risk world opprobrium by letting judges award punishments under ancient religious statutes that violate fundamental human rights.

But as Afghanistan begins the daunting task of reconstructing, virtually from scratch, a judicial system devastated by 22 years of war, the case of Mr White, who was employed as a financial adviser to the government until his dramatic arrest at a Kabul hotel last month, highlights the challenges and pitfalls that lie ahead.

Even under the interim criminal code adopted in February, homosexuality remains an offence punishable by up to 16 years' imprisonment. But most judges are schooled in Islamic law, and the provisional constitution does not make it clear which law - secular or religious - has precedence.

To add to the legal hodgepodge, in vast tracts of the country away from major cities, people still practise customary tribal law that is primitive though not retributive - a murderer can be pardoned, for instance, if his family offers a virgin girl to the victim's relatives.