Analysis of the Validity of Quasi-Intentional Homicide in the Iranian Islamic Penal Code

Abstract

One of the types of homicide that is often accompanied by ambiguity and doctrinal disagreement is quasi-intentional homicide, as it constitutes a composite of both intentional homicide and pure mistake. Since the perpetrator intends to commit the act, it resembles intent, and since there is no intention to kill, it resembles pure error. In Iranian criminal law, homicide is considered quasi-intentional when the offender intends to commit a non-lethal act but does not intend to cause death. The Iranian legislator, drawing upon Imami jurisprudence, defines quasi-intentional homicide in Article 291 of the Islamic Penal Code enacted in 2013. Homicide and bodily injuries are regarded as quasi-intentional when the perpetrator does not intend to kill the victim and the act is not ordinarily lethal, yet the act leading to death is carried out with prior intention. In Article 295 of the Islamic Penal Code enacted in 1991, examples of this type of offense are stated as follows: “such as when a person strikes another for the purpose of discipline in a manner that is not ordinarily fatal, and the act accidentally results in homicide; or when a physician directly treats a patient in a customary manner and accidentally causes death.” The objective of this article is to subject the concept of quasi-intentional homicide in statutory law to precise and systematic scientific analysis.