Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology

Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology

Diminished Criminal Responsibility due to Non-Psychotic Disorders in Iran’s Criminal Law

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Azalia Salari 1
Saeed Qomashi 2
1 Ph.D. Student in Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of Human Sciences and Law, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran.
2 Associated Professor Department of Criminal Law, Faculty of Human Sciences and Law, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran.
10.22034/jclc.2024.485922.2061
Abstract
The issue of protection and improvement of citizens’ mental health is one of the most important challenges of each society and its governments. The concept of mental disorders is more important due to the spread of these diseases among the public. Non-psychotic disorders are known as mental disorders which although are not as severe as insanity, they are effective on the power of perception, judgment, and of course, the strength of control. What is the impact of these mental disorders on perpetrators’ criminal responsibility? Answering to this question is the main concern of this research, which is written with a descriptive analytical method. Studying books, articles and references in the fields of criminal law and psychology leads us to conclude that the prediction of diminished criminal responsibility is the solution to respond to such cases. The non-psychotic disorders are not stipulated in the Islamic penal code of 1392, like other laws after the Islamic revolution. However, it may be possible to use the rule of darā in Hodoud, it is necessary to recognize diminished criminal responsibility in Ta’azirat. The punishment of Qisas still remains problematic and perhaps the analysis of the concept of intention in future researches is a solution to this problem.
Keywords
Mental Disorder
Relative Mental Disorder
Perception
Control
Diminished Criminal Responsibility
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Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology
Volume 12, Issue 24
March 2025
Pages 349-380