The approach of the Criminal Procedure Act 2013 to the Obscenity Crimes

Most obscenity crimes are committed secretly. The disclosure of these offenses, due to their connection with the reputation of the citizens, has devastating effects on the perpetrators and the community. Hence, although from the point of view of Islam, obscenity crimes are condemned; but the criminal policy of Islam is based on the respect to the privacy of citizens. The implementation of this policy will prevent unnecessary disclosure, normalization, and ultimately prevents from spreading them. Therefore, the legislator of Iran declares the prohibition of prosecution and investigation of these crimes in accordance with the criminal policy of Islam in the Criminal Procedure Act 2013 and only prescribes it in exceptional cases that the expediency of prosecution and investigation is more, and of course this is bound and limited. These limitations include exceptions to the principle prohibition of prosecution and investigation, the prosecution authority, the extent of the judge's powers, and so on. The present paper seeks to explain, justify, and criticize the approach of the Criminal Procedure Act 2013 to obscenity crimes.