A Comparative Study of the  Harm Principle and  la Darara wa la Dirar Rule in Justification of Criminal Intervention

The “Harm Principle” in Anglo-American Law is frequently faced a strong challenge by the principles such as legal paternalism and legal moralism. It can، however، resist as a justified principle in the scope of state interventions، and has justified why individual’s liberty should be limited in terms of a minimal state. It is recently claimed that the “No Harm Rule” (la Darara wa la Dirar) in Islamic Jurisprudence can play a role just like “Harm Principle”، and restrict the state’s penal power. After reducing this principle and the rule to constitutive elements، it is found that the “No Harm Rule” has a different basis in comparison with the “Harm Principle”. Accordingly، it is not able to legitimize criminal intervention.