Accessory to Murder and Legal Challenges of Its Punishment

Under the statutory law of Iran no transparent punishment for accessory to murder has been stipulated. The general rules of accessory to murder have been mentioned in the articles 126, 127, 128 & 129 of the Islamic penal code ratified in 2013. The punishment determined for accessory to murder, whenever feasible, is the Islamic lex talionis i.e. Qisas, or whenever not feasible and owing to reasons such as frivolous defense lacking legal merit, or correspondence of the accessory’s action to the religious or legal definition of the term ‘accessory’ shall be different. The findings of the present research reveal that the judged confront overwhelming articles and various religious laws which has led to diversity of views. The present paper undertakes to study the challenges confronting punishment of the accessory to murder stipulated under Islamic penal code.