Arbitration and Its Social Effects in Iranian Criminal Law from the Perspective of Positive Law

Abstract

In criminal law, it is widely held that the criminal justice system is closely connected to public order and state sovereignty and that its destiny cannot be entrusted entirely to civil society. Nevertheless, due to the increasing volume of criminal cases, the efficiency of the judiciary and the effectiveness of the penal system in combating crime and rehabilitating offenders have gradually declined. For this reason, the criminal justice system, in pursuit of restorative justice, has progressively adopted a participatory criminal policy and moved toward mediation, so that the victim and the offender, with the assistance of a mediator and outside the conventional formalities of criminal proceedings, may negotiate, express their respective claims, repair the material and moral damages suffered by the victim, clarify the duties and obligations of the offender toward both the victim and society, and thereby prevent undue delays in judicial proceedings. The purpose of this study is to examine arbitration and its social effects in Iranian criminal law from the standpoint of positive law. The research method is analytical–descriptive and is based on library resources, including books, academic articles, and internet sources. Data collection was conducted through documentary research, using note-taking as the primary research tool. The method of data analysis is qualitative analysis. In the Code of Criminal Procedure enacted in 2013, the Arbitration Council Act (enacted in 1969), the Code of Procedure of Public and Revolutionary Courts in Criminal Matters enacted in 1999, the single-article Act concerning judicial and administrative affairs of Lorestan Province, the Act on the Establishment of Houses of Equity, the Arbitration Council Act, as well as the Act and Regulations of the Dispute Resolution Councils, several legal provisions have referred to arbitration and conciliation. Although arbitration has been properly articulated within Iran’s positive law, it has not been adequately developed, and it is necessary for it to be further expanded by drawing upon the capacities of international law.