Those convicted of drinking alcohol or committing other violations – such as abortion – could be flogged.
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah – who is thought to be worth about $20bn (£12.3bn)
and exercises tight control over the Muslim-majority country – described the
legislation as "part of the great history of our nation" and a form
of "special guidance" from God.
"It is because of our
need that Allah the Almighty, in all his generosity, has created laws for us,
so that we can utilise them to obtain justice," the 67-year-old was quoted as saying in local media.
The oil-rich sultanate already forbids the sale of alcohol and bans the evangelism of religions other than Islam. It is known for practising a more conservative form of Islam than its majority-Muslim neighbour Malaysia.
While sharia law already exists within the small south-east Asian nation – which is home to roughly 406,000 people, two-thirds of whom are Muslim – the Islamic court has, to date, primarily handled family-related affairs like marriage and inheritance.
The new penal code will be enforced in phases, local media reported, and will apply only to Muslims.
However, visitors to the Brunei could be flogged under existing secular laws for crimes including immigration offences. Caning is also used as punishment in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.
Brunei – which also calls itself the "abode of peace" – has seen an increase in crime in recent years, with courts dealing with petty robberies, drug trafficking, fraud and prostitution.
Some in the country seem to welcome the new legislation, with commentators taking to social media to write "long live the sultan" and "praise be to Allah". But human rights activists denounced the move as "feudal" and "abhorrent" and said the praise may be out of fear of the government.
"If Brunei were a functioning democracy instead of an authoritarian, absolute monarchy, you'd probably see some negative reaction to this," said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch. "But people recognise that if they stick their heads up, they'll have to face the sultan's men … because rocking the boat means you could end up in a judicial system that is far from fair."
Brunei's leading Islamic scholar described the sharia code as "guarantee[d] justice for everyone".
Mufti Awang Abdul Aziz told a legal conference on Tuesday: "Let us not just look at the hand-cutting or the stoning or the caning per se. It is not indiscriminate cutting or stoning or caning. There are conditions and there are methods that are just and fair."
He said that tourists should not fear the new legislation as long as they were law-abiding.
"Do all potential tourists to Brunei plan to steal? If they do not, then what do they need to fear? Believe me when I say that with our sharia criminal law, everyone – including tourists – will receive proper protection," he said.
The sultan – who has reigned since 1967 and lives in an 1,800-room palace – also implied that those outside Brunei would do better not to judge the adoption of the new code.
"We view others … without any form of prejudice," he said. "In return, we also have the right to expect that others will view Brunei in the same light."
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