Necessary Elements in the Definition of Political Crime in the Constitution of I.R.I

Abstract

Investigating the nature of political crime, the present article is an attempt to find out the constitutional criterion or criteria in the definition of political crime. It also raises the question whether the constitution of I.R.I supports all political offenders or merely those who recognizing the political system of the Islamic Republic may criticize the government, its establishments, and the governing class. Studying the rationality and background of separation of political crimes from public ones in the west and in the Islamic religion, and studying the criterions towards recognizing political crimes, the article presents the preferred view in this regard. Distinguishing intra system political crimes from extra system ones, it concludes that political crime in the Islamic republic is an offence punished by a discretionary or preventive punishment. In these crimes, the offender commits one of the offences with statutory definition and examples without intending to damage the principal foundations and frameworks of the Islamic Republic, i.e. the official religion and the religious school of thought, establishment of the political system on unconditional guardiance of the jurisprudent, Islam and republicity. It offers a single clause bill as a legislative proposal at the end.

Keywords

• political crime
• public crimes
• intra system and extra system political crimes