Criminal Affairs
Generalities
Article 1 – The Criminal Code of Procedure is a collection of principles and requirements that prescribe how to investigate and prosecute crimes, how to prosecute criminals, how to prosecute and issue the sentence, and how to review, execute, and assign tasks to judicial authorities.
Article 2 – All crimes have a divine aspect and are divided as follows:
One – Crimes for which the sentence is specified in Sharia’ law, such as the punishment for serious crimes and corporal punishment.
Two – Crimes which are oppressive to society’s rights or are intrusive to public discipline.
Three – Crimes which are oppressive to personal rights; this applies to either specific individuals or corporations.
Note 1 – Sharia’s discretionary punishments are punishments that are specified in Islamic Sharia for committing an illegal act, or refusing an obligation without determining the type and quantity of the punishment; the order is written out in the Islamic Penal Code.
Note 2 – A crime that has two aspects can have two claims:
A- A public claim to maintain divine limitations, public rights, and discipline.
B- A personal claim to demand rights such as retribution, false accusation, individual losses or corporate losses.
Article 3 – Regarding the divine aspect and maintaining the public rights and Islamic limitations: it is the responsibility of the director of the District Court to pursue a charge and to prosecute a person based on legal criteria; and regarding the personal component of the claim, it will be initiated by the private plaintiff.
Article 4 – To perform and pursue a claim, crimes are divided into three of the following groups:
1- Crimes for which the prosecution is the responsibility of the director of the District Court, regardless of whether or not there is a complaint from a private plaintiff. The director of the District Court can designate this responsibility to one of his or her assistant directors.
2- Crimes which are prosecuted with a plaintiff’s complaint and will not be suspended even if the plaintiff forgives the defendant.
3- Crimes which are prosecuted with a plaintiff’s complaint and will be suspended if the plaintiff forgives the defendant.
Note – The differentiation and determination of whether a criminal act falls into its respective category is based on law.
Article 5 – One can only try a criminal act against the person who committed the crime, his or her partner, and assistant.
Article 6 – According to the law, pursuing a criminal act and performing a punishment which has already been started cannot be suspended unless in the following cases:
One – Death of the accused or charged person in cases of individual punishment.
Two – Forgiveness of the personal plaintiff or complainant in forgivable crimes.
Three – Those given amnesty.
Four – Abolishment of the legal punishment.
Five – Validity of the closed case.
Six – Time lapse in deterrent penalties.
Note – If the criminal falls subject to dementia before the definite sentence is issued, the investigation is suspended until his or her recovery.
Article 7 – If the prosecution of a criminal act is suspended or it is concluded that [the alleged perpetrator] is innocent according to a legal aspect, then the investigation will be performed from other aspects.
Article 8 – In cases when the criminal case is suspended due to forgiveness of the complainant or private plaintiff, if the complainant or private plaintiff forgives after the definite sentence is issued then the implementation of the sentence will be stopped. And if part of the sentence is performed, the rest will be suspended and the effects of the sentence will be cleared unless otherwise established in law.
Article 9 – A person is called a private claimant or plaintiff when they have incurred a loss due to a crime, or gained a right such as retribution or false accusation, and he or she claims this loss.
Losses that can be claimed include the following:
1- Financial losses occurring as a result of a crime.
2- Obtainable benefits that the private claimant is deprived of and granted as a result of the committed crime.
Article 10 – In financial affairs, a private claim remains active even if the accused dies before the definite sentence is issued. From a legal perspective, dismantling public rights does not result in dismantling individual rights.
Article 11 – When an accused is being tried, the claimant or complainant can provide the investigative officers with the original or copies of all proof and documents to be attached to the file and should provide them to the court before the end of trial is announced. Claims for losses should be handled in accordance with the Civil Code of Procedure.
Article 12 – Whenever the court finds an accused guilty, the verdict for the losses of the private plaintiff should be announced along with the issuance of the criminal verdict, according to the available evidence and documents, unless investigation of the losses requires more investigation. In that case, the court should issue the criminal sentence, then prosecute the petition for losses afterwards, and issue the appropriate sentence accordingly.
Article 13 – If anytime during the investigation, it is apparent that reaching a conclusion is subject to another matter, for which the investigation of is the responsibility of another court, or if the continuation of the investigation in the same court requires an application of different procedures, a sentence to suspend the trial should be issued and reported to both parties. The beneficiary is obligated to follow up the case in a valid court within a month, and present the testimony to the examining court, or prepare a petition for the same court; otherwise the court will continue its investigation and make the appropriate decision.
Article 14 – In cases when the investigation of a subject is not within the designated responsibilities of the examining magistrate, the sentence of refusal is issued and the director of the District Court is accordingly informed to nominate a judge or refer the case to another branch.
