Criticism of an Award Issued Regarding Committing a Crime Against the Environment

The importance of the environment as one of the fundamental human rights clarifies the need to punish and deal with environmental crimes. What is stipulated in Article 688 of the Islamic Penal Code approved in 1392 under the title of the crime of threatening public health is different from the environmental crime. The authority to detect the crime of threat to public health and environmental crime is the Ministry of Health, Treatment and Medical Education and the Environmental Protection Organization, respectively. Of course, this does not mean that the mentioned organization is a complaint in environmental crimes, but as the guardian of the matter, it is merely reporting the occurrence of the crime. It is obvious that, in case of facing an environmental crime, the judge must refer to the environmental laws and refer to the provisions reflected in those laws and use the legal capacities available in them. The mentioned contents are among the items that have been criticized in the opinion of the subject of discussion. The suggested solution to overcome the weak points in the handling of environmental crimes is to create specialized branches with the use of judges who have respect for the teachings of environmental law.