Criminalization in the Criminal System of Islamic Republic of Iran

Criminalization is the process by virtue of which legislator inhibits act or omission and imposes criminal sanctions on it. In the criminal system of Islamic Republic of Iran, it should be in the extents laid down in the Constitution principle 71. According to this principle, parliament authority in the regulation and the criminalization is not unlimited, but it is subject to restrictions prescribed in Constitution. Also, based on the Constitution principle 4, parliament should criminalize within the Islamic principles and standards. Under legal and constitutional principles, presumption is permitting, non-guardianship, innocence, personal security, prohibiting the Inquisition, prohibiting the surveillance, prohibiting the arrest, etc. and making an exception on these principles requires reasoning. Accordingly, this paper with presentation of creative interpretation of the Constitution, considers this important matter that Parliament under principle 71 can only criminalize in the extents laid down in Constitution and these limitations are determined in principles 9&40 generally and principles 24, 26, 27 & 28 specifically. Thus, criminal legislator in Iran can not criminalize out of above-mentioned boundaries and standards and impose limitations on the area of individual rights and freedoms.