Islamic Penal Code of Iran

The Islamic Penal Code of Iran is the codified national criminal law of Iran. The current Islamic Penal Code was enacted in 2012 and entered into force in 2013.^[1] The 2013 code replaced the first Islamic Penal Code, which was enacted in 1991.^[1] The 1991 code attempted to codify Iran's criminal law on the basis of Islamic Sharia as interpreted by the Shia based Jaafari school of Islamic jurisprudence.

After the election of the first Majles of the Islamic Republic in 1980, the Majles and the Guardian Council quickly codified important features of the sharia law by passing two landmark bills^[2]^: 132 in July 1982:^[3]^: 238 Sharia law includes Hudud ("claims against God", punishable by a mandatory, fixed sentence), Qisas (the law of retaliation/retribution), diyyeh, or blood money (to compensate for the death/injury), Qanon-e Ta'zir (tazir is a crime that receives a discretionary sentence by a judge), Qanon-e Qisas (Retribution Law).

Compared to the 1991 code, the 2013 code has been described as containing improved provisions for the rehabilitation of offenders, although still falling short in this area.^[4] Other reforms in the 2013 code included strengthened provisions on the reduction of sentences of minors on the basis of their immaturity.^[5]

Sharia in Iran has been modified to some degree, according to one source, the new laws of the Islamic Republic "modify the sharia" (i.e. what Muslims believe is God's legislation) "in three significant ways": allowing the appeal of decisions, the use of circumstantial evidence in cases, and long-term imprisonment as a punishment.^[2]^: 134

^ ^a ^b Poorbafrani, Hassan; Zamani, Masoud (2015). "A Comparative Critique of Regulating the Personal and the Passive Personality Principles in the Iranian Penal System". Electronic Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law. 3 (20): 117–133. doi:10.5167/UZH-117637.
^ ^a ^b Abrahamian, Ervand (1999-06-16). Tortured Confessions: Prisons and Public Recantations in Modern Iran. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520922907.
^ Burki, Shireen (2013). The Politics of State Intervention: Gender Politics in Pakistan, Afghanistan . Lexington Books. ISBN 9780739184332. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
^ Mollaei, Mohammad; Ghayoomzadeh, Mahmood; Mirkhalili, Seyed Mahmoud (2020). "Rehabilitation and Re-socialization of Criminals in Iranian Criminal Law". Journal of Religion and Health. 59 (2): 1013–1023. doi:10.1007/s10943-018-0578-2. ISSN 0022-4197. JSTOR 45285507. PMID 29423643.
^ Bagheri, Mostafa; Ali Pour, Hasan; Fazli, Mehdi (2024-01-21). "Challenges of Article 91 of the Islamic Penal Code (1392) in Judicial Procedure". Legal Research Quarterly. 26 (104): 292–310. doi:10.48308/jlr.2023.230168.2425 (inactive 1 April 2025). ISSN 1024-0772.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of April 2025 (link)

[:5-1] Poorbafrani, Hassan; Zamani, Masoud (2015). "A Comparative Critique of Regulating the Personal and the Passive Personality Principles in the Iranian Penal System". Electronic Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law. 3 (20): 117–133. doi:10.5167/UZH-117637.

[Abrahamian-2] Abrahamian, Ervand (1999-06-16). Tortured Confessions: Prisons and Public Recantations in Modern Iran. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520922907.

[Burki-3] Burki, Shireen (2013). The Politics of State Intervention: Gender Politics in Pakistan, Afghanistan . Lexington Books. ISBN 9780739184332. Retrieved 19 May 2015.

[4] Mollaei, Mohammad; Ghayoomzadeh, Mahmood; Mirkhalili, Seyed Mahmoud (2020). "Rehabilitation and Re-socialization of Criminals in Iranian Criminal Law". Journal of Religion and Health. 59 (2): 1013–1023. doi:10.1007/s10943-018-0578-2. ISSN 0022-4197. JSTOR 45285507. PMID 29423643.

[5] Bagheri, Mostafa; Ali Pour, Hasan; Fazli, Mehdi (2024-01-21). "Challenges of Article 91 of the Islamic Penal Code (1392) in Judicial Procedure". Legal Research Quarterly. 26 (104): 292–310. doi:10.48308/jlr.2023.230168.2425 (inactive 1 April 2025). ISSN 1024-0772.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of April 2025 (link)

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