The Role of the Judiciary in Crime Prevention: (With Emphasis on the Criminal Responsibility of Senior Officials)

It is generally assumed that the judiciary, as one of the three branches of government, only has a reactive function. That is, events must occur within society and a dispute must arise before the parties involved can approach the judiciary to seek justice and resolution. It is from this point onward that the role of the judiciary begins. However, beyond resolving disputes between parties, it seems that the judiciary can—and indeed should—also play a proactive role. In other words, there are duties for the judiciary that are conceivable before a crime is committed or a dispute arises. Therefore, the main question of this paper is: What is the role of the judiciary in crime prevention in the Islamic Republic of Iran? The hypothesis of the paper is that, according to the role assigned to the judiciary by the Constitution, its functions can be divided into two categories: reactive (administering justice) and proactive (preventing crime and resolving disputes before they occur). Based on this, the judiciary's proactive functions can be identified. The findings of the research show that, despite the fact that the judiciary has a range of preventive duties that are essential for achieving a healthy and just society, the lack of a cohesive approach on one hand, and parallel efforts and institutional disorganization on the other hand, have prevented the achievement of desirable results. The research approach is descriptive-analytical, and the data collection method is library-based and documentary.