Penal liability of COVID – 19 virus transmitters in homicide crime

Along with its economic, social and political crises, COVID – 19 pandemics throughout the world in 2019 has brought legal challenges so that high rate of deaths reduplicates the importance of addressing virus transmitters’ penal liability in homicide crime. Thus, the purpose of present paper is to study the scope of the virus transmitters’ penal liability in homicide crime (either intentionally or unintentionally).

This is a descriptive – analytical paper by using laboratory resources.

Findings indicate that in accordance with article 492 of Islamic Penalty Code, virus transmitters’ penal liability in homicide crime is based on the existence of citation relationship. Assuming such relationship, transmitter may have deemed lack of penal liability due to some reasons such as act rule; however, if he/she is considered as liable, he/she should be convicted to such penalties as retaliation, blood money and canonical punishment by considering mens rea. Ethical considerations: Present paper is composed by relying upon ethical principles, trusteeship and honesty.

Apart from the time when no one is liable for the death of transmitted person, overall, the verdicts are different depended to mens rea. In the case that transmitter has transmitted the virus to another person with the aim of killing including both explicit intent (article 290(a)(d) of Islamic Penalty Code) and implicit intent (article 290(b)(e) of Islamic Penalty Code), the verdict of retaliation should be issued, provided that general conditions of retaliation are existing (article 301 of Islamic Penalty Code); in the case that virus transmitter does it without the intent of killing, it is considered as reckless if homicide is happened (article 291 of Islamic Penalty Code) and virus transmitter is convicted to paying blood money to decedent’s heirs and canonical punishments determined in article 616 of such punishments since homicide is the result of criminal fault. If the homicide is happened and it is a pure offence (article 292 of Islamic Penalty Code), transmitter and his/her consanguineous male dependents are required to pay blood money (article 463 of Islamic Penalty Code).