Examining the Criminal Responsibility of Minors in Light of the 2013 Islamic Penal Code

Abstract

Although Iranian criminal law, similar to other jurisprudential-legal schools, considers minors to lack criminal responsibility, it has explicitly addressed in various legal articles, including Article 88 of the Islamic Penal Code (IPC), the commission of crimes by this age group, and has specified discretionary punishments, Hudud, retribution (Qisas), and blood money (Diyat). However, due to the offender's age and lack of maturity, they are deemed deserving of protective and educational measures rather than punitive sanctions. The aim of this article is to examine the aspects of maturity and its impact on the criminal responsibility of individuals, followed by the type of judicial response within the framework of Iran's modern criminal policy. This research, using a descriptive-analytical method and gathering sources and documents through library-based studies, concludes that although the IPC refers to the criminal responsibility of minors in several articles, according to the explicit wording of Article 146 of the IPC, with reference to Article 2 of the IPC, which defines criminal behavior as one that entails a specific punishment, not protective and educational measures, the behavior committed by a minor cannot be considered a crime. Consequently, a minor never bears criminal responsibility, and protective and educational measures are solely for the purpose of discipline, correction, and preventing recidivism in the future.