A Comparative Study on the Acus Reus of Armed Forces Self-Harm Crimes in Iran and the United States

Self-harm exists among armed forces due to the presence of these forces in specific and difficult situations. In some legal systems, armed forces' self-harm has been criminalized. Iran and the United States are among those countries. The greatest similarity between these two legal systems is in the Actus Reus of self-mutilation crimes, and in both legal systems, any degree of malingering and any degree of self-harm, as well as any model of self-mutilation by any means or any method has been considered sufficient commission of the crime. Self-harm by the armed forces in the form of omission such as not eating with the intention of harming oneself is considered a crime. The important difference in the two countries law is that in Iran, “physical and mental disability" and "expressing recurrent disinterest" is recognized as the actus reus of the crimes. While in the United States, these weak degrees of self-harm are not considered as a crime, and as a result, the scope of crimes of the armed forces in Iran is wider than in the United States and includes more actions.