Sociological Analysis of Alternative Sanctions to Imprisonment in Afghanistan Criminal Justice System

Imprisonment is one of the criminal reactions, which is applied to establishment of social order and ensure justice. Alternative punishments of imprisonment were proposed as a result of the emergence of critical criminology theories in the 19th century and de-imprisonment theories. According to the theories of the abolitionist schools, the movements of de-imprisonment and international documents, the Afghan legislator has determined the alternative punishments of imprisonment as the main punishment in 2016. The novelty of the alternative punishment of imprisonment as the main punishment in the penal code and how it matches with the prevailing culture needs a research in this regard. The purpose of the research is to study the alternative punishments of imprisonment, its function in reforming the criminal and how it is accepted as a social phenomenon in the Afghan society. The question is, what is the function of alternative prison sentences from a sociological point of view? What is the feedback of alternative prison sentences in correction and rehabilitation of criminals? This research has been done in a descriptive-analytical way, using a library tool to collect data, in the criminal law of Afghanistan. The findings of the research are; The legislator has determined the alternative punishments of imprisonment for the first time in its modern form as the main punishment. As far as the alternative punishments of imprisonment have been implemented in the society, according to the punishment of imprisonment, it has played more effective roles in the part of reformingthe criminal. Chnging imprisonment to an alternative punishment during punishment shows the flexibility of the legislator regarding the criminals in order to provide the basis for their reformation. However, lack of strict monitoring of its implementation, lack of necessary tools and equipment for electronic monitoring, and lack of culturalizaion among judges to determine alternative punishments to imprisonment are among the problems in its implementation.