A/HRC/29/40 49. Some States that apply religious or customary law to regulate personal status have reinforced the traditional prohibitions on adultery by criminalizing it. Adultery, which is defined as any sexual relation outside marriage, is severely punished and may even result in a sentence of death by stoning in some States that apply Islamic law. The sanctions are generally imposed on the women rather than the men. Interventions by foreign Governments, civil society and special procedures mandate holders have sometimes led to judgements that imposed stoning to be overturned. In some states in the United States of America, adultery between married persons is a crime, but these provisions have not been implemented in the last thirty years. The Working Group issued a statement calling for the decriminalization of adultery33 and wishes to recall that criminalization of sexual relations between consenting adults is a violation of their right to privacy and an infringement of article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 50. Reforms to introduce a measure of equality for women in family law have come about in two different ways in countries where family law was based solely on religious law. The first involves reform based on religious interpretation (hermeneutics). The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has argued, in several of its concluding observations, that evolving customs and the variety of possible interpretations of religious law offer potential for progress towards equality, while at the same time encouraging States parties to move in that direction. 34 Reforms of religious family codes, based on interpretations of sacred texts that favour equality, have taken place in some Muslim-majority countries, which have carried out legislative reforms founded on progressive interpretations of sharia. For example, Tunisia was one of the first countries with Islam as the State religion to enact a progressive Personal Status Code guaranteeing gender equality;35 in 2004, Morocco embarked on a far-reaching reform of its family law, paving the way for significant progress towards gender equality;36 Tunisia, Turkey37 and Benin have adopted legislation against polygamy; in Indonesia, Islamic tribunals institutionalized the appointment of women judges in religious tribunals in 1989, thus encouraging more gender-sensitive rulings. 51. The second way to reform patriarchal religious family law involves the replacement of religious family law with secular law. In traditionally Christian States, such as Italy in 1970 and Greece in 1982, civil family codes were introduced to replace religious personal laws. 3. Plural legal systems 52. Plural legal systems are systems in which various laws coexist. They may include various combinations of codified civil law, religious law systems, indigenous or customary legal codes, community arbitration or other dispute settlement procedures. Plural legal systems may be formal or informal. They most often affect personal status law and family law. In States with plural legal systems, the State legal system, which is generally civil and codified, and the State courts address matters relating to the public sphere. 53. Several States have adopted this type of legal system as a way of acknowledging cultural diversity. However, legal pluralism is also used by some actors to promote political 33 34 35 36 37 GE.15-07003 Statement by the Working Group, “Adultery as a criminal offence violates women’s human rights”, 2012, available from www.ohchr.org/ EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=12672 &LangID=E. See Marsha A. Freeman, Christine Chinkin and Beate Rudolf, The UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: A Commentary, 2012, p. 439. See A/HRC/23/50/Add.2, paras. 7–8. See A/HRC/20/28/Add.1, paras. 18–22. Turkish Civil Code (1926). 13