Process of Investigation and Issuance of the Court Order
Article 188 – According to the court, the proceedings are open except in the following situations:
1- Unchaste acts and crimes against good morals.
2- Family disputes or private claims upon the requests of both parties.
3- Having an open session which disturbs security or religious feelings.
Note 1- An open session allows for people to be present at the trial. Media reporters can be present at the trials and prepare a written report of the proceedings. Reporters can publish them without disclosing the name or specifics which reveal the identity of an individual or social & official position of either the plaintiff or defendant. Violating the last part of this note is considered libel. (Amendment dated 24- 03- 1385 [June 14, 2006])
Note 2- If the accused or any other person disturbs the trial, it does not prevent the session from being open and it should be managed appropriately. Someone who disturbs the trial can be detained by the judge for 1-5 days. The court order is definite and will be implemented immediately. The court should remind all those present of the contents of this clause before starting the session.
Note 3- In definite sentences regarding crimes such as: embezzlement, bribery, intervention, collusion, or receiving commission in government businesses, disturbing the country’s economy, abuse of authority in order to obtain interest for oneself or others, custom crimes, tax crimes, goods, currency smuggling and in general crimes against government’s financial rights, the court issuing the sentence should publish the summary of the sentence containing the identity, position or title, committed crime and the type and amount of the punishment of the convict at his or her own cost in one of the widely circulated newspapers or local newspaper if need be, and will provide it to other public media. That is, providing that the value of the revenue from the committed crime is equal or more than one hundred million Rials (about USD 100,000). (Amendment dated 24- 03- 1385 [June 14, 2006])
Note 4- The appeals reference is bound to review the files related to this article within six months maximum and issue the sentence. In case of delay without proper reasoning, the judges of the reviewing branch are sentenced to disciplinary punishment of grade four and above. (Amendment dated 24- 03- 1385 [June 14, 2006])
Note 5- Any one of the executive or judicial authorities violating the contents of this article, or preventing its execution in any way will be sentenced to the punishment articulated in the article 576 of the Islamic Penal Code. (Amendment dated 24- 03- 1385 [June 14, 2006])
Article 189 – People below the age of 15 are forbidden to be in the audience of a criminal trial.
Article 190 – When investigations are complete and there is a date fixed for the trial, the accused or his or her attorney can request the court office to provide them with the information in the file.
Article 191 – Whenever the accused or the private plaintiff requests an investigation of a person(s), whom although not summoned before, are present at the trial, the court will perform the necessary investigations.
Article 192 – If an accused is in detention, s/he will appear in court with the officers. The judge will first open the session with an official announcement and will inquire about the identity of the complainant or private plaintiff, and will listen to the complaint and the financial loss claim. The judge will then inquire about the identity of the accused according to Article 129 of this Code, and will warn the accused and the concerned individuals that they should not speak against truth, conscience, rules, courtesy and propriety. Afterwards, the court will explain the subject of the crime to the accused, the petition of the plaintiff, all the evidence of the complaint and accusation, and will start the proceedings.
Article 193 – The proceedings are performed as follows:
1- Listen to the statements of the complainant and private plaintiff or their attorneys, and the witnesses and the specialists that are introduced by the complainant or the private plaintiff.
2- Investigate the accused to see if s/he accepts the charge. The answer of the accused will be precisely reflected in the minutes.
3- Listen to the statements of the accused, the witnesses, and specialists introduced by him or her or the attorney.
4- Examine the tools and instruments of the crime and listen to the statements of the attorney of the accused.
5- Verify the new evidence presented to the court by the accused or his or her attorney.
The court is bound to reflect the contents of statements of both parties and the exact statements of one party that is being used by the other, and also the exact statements of the witnesses and the specialists. Once all negotiations are done, the court will allow the accused or his or her attorney to speak as their last defense, and will conclude the proceedings by acquiring the signatures of both parties.
Article 194 – Whenever the accused confesses to a crime and his or her confession is clear with no suspicion and all signs and evidence confirm it, the court will issue the sentence. If the accused denies or keeps quiet or there is a suspicion in the confession or contradiction with the evidence, the court will start investigating the witnesses, those with knowledge of the crime, and the accused and will review other evidence accordingly.
Article 195 – In cases where there is a possibility that the parties can reconcile, the court will make all possible efforts to make peace between the two, and if this does not occur, the case will be investigated and the respective sentence issued accordingly.
Article 196 – The court is bound to investigate the witnesses individually, and take proper measures to avoid communication between the witnesses and the accused. After the individual investigations, the court can reinvestigate the witnesses individually or in groups upon the request of the accused, private plaintiff or the court itself. Before each investigation, the court shall inquire about the name, last name, father’s name, age, occupation, relationship and the servant or manager of the private plaintiff or the accused, pursuant to Article 153 of this Code.
Article 197 – The court should ask the respective questions to demystify and clarify the issue from the parties, witnesses and those with knowledge of the crime. If the accused does not respond to the questions, the court will continue the investigation without forcing the accused to answer.
Article 198 – When the court listens to the testimony of the witness from one party, it will inform the other party to ask questions.
Article 199 – Interruption of the witnesses’ testimony during the proceedings is forbidden. Each party shall raise their questions through the court.
Article 200 – Witnesses cannot leave the trial after giving their testimony until the time set by the court, unless the court allows for this.
Article 201 – When the court requests that the witnesses or those with knowledge of the crimes testify or express what they know, and the testimony is later found to be untrue regardless of the benefit or loss of any party, they are sentenced to reimburse the loss, if any, in addition to the penalty of perjury.
Article 202 – If the complainant, private plaintiff, accused or the witnesses do not know Farsi, the court will assign two interpreters. The interpreter shall be reliable to the court and make a commitment that they will translate all statements correctly and without any change.
Article 203 – The accused and the private plaintiff can reject the interpreter, but the rejection of the interpreter shall have a valid reason. Acceptance or rejection of the interpreter is decided by the court and the decision is definite. The standard for rejecting the interpreter is the same as the standard for accepting witnesses.
Article 204 – If the private plaintiff, the accused or those with knowledge of the crime are deaf or mentally handicapped, the court will arrange to investigate them through specialists.
Article 205 – If a party to the claim correctly objects to the accuracy of the officers’ investigation, the court will verify either directly through the examining magistrate, or as deemed appropriate.
Article 206 – If during the investigations, the court discovers another crime, it will notify the director of the District Court in writing and once referred, will follow up within the court’s authority.
Article 207 – In cases that involve a loss for one party, the court will perform any investigation necessary to find the truth in addition to the evidence of the parties. When it is clear for the court that the documents or the request of one of the parties is not enough to prove the allegation, the judge can avoid considering the case after providing the reasons.
Article 208 – When a case has a main plaintiff, an assistant and a partner, and they are all present in court, the investigations will start beginning with the plaintiff.
Article 209 – Whenever there are several plaintiffs in a case or they have assistants and partners, and if there is no access to one or some of them, the court will process the case regarding those who are present. In cases where there is a possibility of absentia proceedings, it will be done for those who are absent. Otherwise the case will remain open.
Article 210 – The judge shall not publicly express any opinion about the accused being guilty or innocent before the investigations are complete and the sentence is reached.
Article 211 – In cases where there is a need for further investigation, in order to issue the sentence, the trial will start right after the investigation, and will not stop until the court order is issued. If the trial is lengthy, there should be enough breaks as necessary.
Article 212 – The court will issue the court order during the same session once the investigations are finished, and with the help of God, relying on honor and conscience, and according to the contents of the file, and the present evidence. Unless determination of the sentence requires some preliminary preparations, the court order will be issued within a week at the very maximum.
Article 213 – If the court order is based on the innocence of the accused or the suspension of the sentence, and the accused is in detention, s/he will be immediately freed, unless the accused is being arrested for other issues.
Note – Once the sentence is formed, the letter shall be edited starting with the name of God and will be imparted to both parties after the following notes are clarified in:
A- The reference number of the letter with the date and the file number.
B- Specification of the examining court and the Magistrate.
C- Specification of the parties to the case.
D- Evidence and the documentation of the sentence.
E- The nature of the sentence and those articles of law to which the sentence is referred.
Article 214 – The court order shall be reasonable and valid based on the article of codes and principles to which the sentence is issued. The court is bound to find the sentence of any issue within the codified rules and if there is no code for a subject, the court will issue a valid sentence based on the reliable sources of jurisprudence or reliable fatwa. The courts cannot avoid addressing the complaints and claims or issuing the sentence because there is lack of, or deficiency, or brevity, or contradiction or ambiguity in the codified rules.
Article 215 – The copy of a sentence cannot be handed over before the original copy is signed. Violators of this rule will be sentenced to between three to twelve months dismissal from Governmental service.
Article 216 – The court order will be recorded in the minutes as well as a specific book. If the judge pronounces and hands over the sentence in person to both parties involved in the claim, a copy can be given to them.
