STUDY OF FALSE TESTIMONY (PERJURY) IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM OF AFGHANISTAN

False testimony is considered one of the significant challenges in the judicial system of Afghanistan, having widespread negative impacts on the implementation of justice. This article explores the concept, elements, and penalties for false testimony in Hanafi jurisprudence and the Afghanistan’s Penal Code. According to findings, in Hanafi jurisprudence, false testimony is regarded as a major sin, with penalties such as public humiliation, flogging, and imprisonment prescribed for it. In the Afghanistan criminal justice system, false testimony is also defined as a crime with punishments such as imprisonment, fines, and the imposition of penalties on the false witness based on its impact on the proceedings. The aim of this research is to clarify and examine the crime of false testimony in the Afghanistan’s criminal justice system and to seek answers regarding what constitutes false testimony within this system. The research method employed in this article is fundamental, with information gathered using a descriptive-analytical approach and through library research. The results indicate that Afghan legislators largely follow the views of Imam Abu Yusuf and Muhammad, students of Imam Abu Hanifa, and have attempted to prevent the proliferation of this phenomenon through legal measures. The similarities of this crime in Hanafi jurisprudence and Afghanistan’s criminal law include legal and jurisprudential foundations, attention to the effects of false testimony, penalties for false testimony, and the nature of the crime of false testimony. The differences include the legal approach versus the jurisprudential approach, occurrence only in court sessions versus occurrence in court sessions and before judicial officers, differences in the severity of penalties, civil and criminal liability, and how to deal with false testimony after a verdict is issued.