Conflict of criminalization in the family with public interest from Imam Khomeini's point of view

From Imam Khomeini's point of view, the provisions of the no-harm rule are a primary government prohibition, not a secondary and Shariah one, so the government is obliged to deal with people who cause harm to others. But the important question that is raised is whether the criminal treatment and criminalization of the harmful act in the family institution is compatible with the public interest? This article aims to answer this question by examining the conflict between criminalization in the family institution and expediency from the perspective of Imam Khomeini (RA), in a descriptive-analytical way. Since the ruler of the Islamic government enjoys the absolute guardianship of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and this matter is entrusted to the jurist. The orders and decrees issued by her are valid when they are subject to expediency and agree with it. On the other hand, based on rational and narrative reasons, preserving and strengthening the foundation of the family, by applying peaceful methods, is one of the aims and purposes of the Sharia and a subset of the public interest of the people, and criminalization is sometimes considered a violation of this purpos. Therefore With Imam's interpretation on the issue of "interest" and the supremacy of public interest over all governmental decrees, the conclusion is reached that protecting the foundation of the family is one of the main purposes of the Sharia and is in accordance with the public interest. And in the conflict between the necessity of criminalizing harmful acts in the family institution and protecting the public interest, priority will be given to public interest, not individual interest, and to criminalize it or not, public interest must be taken into consideration. In other words, in the clash of criminalization of the harmful act of family members based on the harmless government decree with the rule of expediency which requires the decriminalization of the family. The rule of expediency comes first, and for criminalizing the family institution, it is necessary to consider the public interest in all cases.