A Comparative Study of the Protective Principle in the Criminal Law of Iran and England in the Line of International Instruments

The Protective principle as one of the aspects of extraterritorial jurisdiction; is applied when the crime committed abroad is against its fundamental and vital interests. In this paper, by using the descriptive-analytical and library methods and adaptation around the protective principle in the criminal law of Iran and England by looking at international documents, such results have been obtained: firstly, in crimes under the protective principle, accepted subjects of international law in the criminal law of Iran and England have been developed, the application of the criminal law of the two countries is generally the same in terms of type and nature of crime, but, they are different in terms of legal punishment. Secondly, In English criminal law, the condition of trial in absentia was not accepted by the legislator in the application of this principle, but in Iranian criminal law, the implementation of the protective principle by eliminating the condition that the accused be found or extradited to the country is accepted as a kind of trial in absentia, which is more in line with international standards. Thirdly, In English criminal law, in line with human rights considerations, the condition of prohibiting retrial cannot be applied only in the case of some terrorist crimes, but the inclusion of previous punishments is accepted; however, in Iranian criminal law, the prohibition of retrial is not accepted, but the inclusion of previous punishments in penal punishments is accepted by the legislator