Restorative Mechanisms against Environmental Crimes in Iran’s Criminal Justice System
Subject Areas : environmental low
1 - Assistant Professor Department of Social Sciences, Payam Noor University, Tehran, Iran. *(Corresponding Author (
Keywords: Compensation Funds, Environmental Crimes, Restorative Mechanisms, Legal Assistance, Mediation, Criminal Justice System. ,
Abstract :
As a criminal phenomenon, environmental crimes require provisioning reactive strategies by administrators of criminal justice system. Restorative mechanisms as a considerable part of reactive strategies and their statuses in the criminal justice system are of subjects less studied analytically. Using descriptive-analytical methods and library data, the present research explained and evaluated restorative mechanisms against environmental crimes in the present Iranian criminal justice system. The results showed that although in the present Iranian criminal justice system and regarding environmental crimes restorative mechanisms don’t function as criminal and suppressive mechanisms, this doesn’t mean that criminal legislator has ignored them altogether; in fact, some strategies can be explained and evaluated including environmental mediation, provisioning restorative function for NGOs, damages awarded by courts as some complementary for criminal punishments, and also legal assistance for the victims of environmental crimes. Despite the fact that Iranian criminal legislator considered partially the restorative mechanisms against environmental crimes, some faults can be seen in implementing these mechanisms among which more important ones include limited intervention by NGOs in the preferring process and participating in hearings, approving by the head of the judiciary the names of NGOs authorized in performing these duties, making non-mandatory the environmental liability insurance for the future professions, lack of legal regulations on compensation funds for environment.
1. Taghizadeh Ansari, M., (1997), Criminal Laws of the Environment, 1st ed, Tehran: Qom Publishing House, p.14. (In Persian)
2. Hosseini, SM., and Mohammadi, M., (2016), Study of Human Rights on the Environment, Bi-Quarterly Journal of Islamic Human Rights Studies, Vol.6, No.12, pp.127-151. (In Persian)
3. Mashhadi, A., (2016), Mahsha Collection of Environmental Laws and Regulations, 1st ed, Tehran: Khorsandi Publications, Vol.1, p.29. (In Persian)
4. Allah Dadi, I., Akbari, GH-A., and Yazdani, F., (2007), Dictionary of Environmental Words and Terms, 1st ed, Tehran: Jihad Academic Publications, p.74. (In Persian)
5. Kashkulian, E., Shaikhul-Islami, A., and Naqvi, M., (2018), Environmental crimes and strategies to prevent them, Journal of Ethical Ethics, Vol.9, No.32, pp.101-110. (In Persian)
6. Kashkulian, E., and Shaikhul-Islami, A., (2022), Judicial challenges of dealing with environmental crimes in Iran's criminal law, Civilization Quarterly, Vol.5, No.10, pp.115-135. (In Persian)
7. Babakhani, E., (2018), Organized environmental crimes with an emphasis on French law, Detective Quarterly, Vol.13, No.49, pp.28-50. (In Persian)
8. Asadzadeh, S., Ahadi, F., and Kanjuri, M., (2022), Examination of the restorative justice process and its challenges in environmental crimes, Legal Civilization Quarterly, Vol.5, No.11, pp.337-353. (In Persian)
9. Gholami, H., (2017), Adalat al-Shammani, 7th ed, Tehran: Samit Publications, p.9. (In Persian)
10. Zehr, H., (2013), The Little Book of Restorative Justice, Translated by Gholami, H., 1st ed, Tehran: Majd Publications, p.19. (In Persian)
11. Shiri, A., (2017), The right of the victim in determining the punishment and how to implement it, Judicial Law Perspectives Quarterly, Vol.23, No.81, pp.77-105. (In Persian)
12. Gorji Fard, HR., (2013), Green Criminology and Environmental Crimes, Master's Thesis of Environmental Law, Tehran: Shahid Beheshti University, Faculty of Law and Political Science, p.123. (In Persian)
13. Ahmadi, L., (2014), Mediation an Effective Method for Appling Restorative Justice, Social Work Mag, Vol.3, No.1, pp.44-51. (In Persian)
14. Mirfardi, A., Heydari, A., and Demsaz, T., (2017), Study the effect of responsibility on the environmental behavior by media mediating (Case study: Ahvaz), Environmental Education and Sustainable Development, Vol.6, No.1, pp.55-68. (In Persian)
15. Falakuddin, A., Ghasemi, M., and Nosrati, Y., (2021), Introduction to the application of restorative justice doctrines in the field of environmental crimes; A step towards changing lenses in order to prevent and repair biological damages, Journal of Bioethics, Vol.11, No.36, pp.1-18. (In Persian)
16. Shia Ali, A., Zare, V., and Zare, M., (2015), The position of reactive participatory criminal policy in the criminal prosecution stage in Iranian law, Criminal Law and Criminology Quarterly, Vol.2, No.4-5, pp.287-310. (In Persian)
17. Ramezani Qawamabadi, MH., and Javadmanesh, J., (2015), Comparative study of the scope of the concept of beneficiary in environmental litigation in Iranian and European Union law, Public Law Studies Quarterly, Vol.46, No.4, pp.977-1001. (In Persian)
18. Jam, F., (2008), Access to environmental justice: An exploration of the theory of position and the filing of public interest lawsuits in the United States of America, Journal of Constitutional Law, Vol.7, No.9, pp.81-96. (In Persian)
19. Vorwai, A., Mohammadi, H., and Noorian, A., (2015), Participation of non-governmental organizations in criminal Procedure, Journal of Law and Politics, Vol.12, No.2 (28 consecutive), pp.27-43. (In Persian)
20. Boyd, J., and Ingberman, DE., (1995), Do Punitive Damages Delerrence?, Working Paper No.BLE-95-08, Business Law & Economics Center of Washington University.
21. Virgo, G., (2006), The Principles of the Law of Restitution, 2nd ed, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
22. Jalali, H., (2022), Analyzing the Mechanisms of Civil Liability for Compensating Environmental Damages, Human and Environment Quarterly, Vol.20, No.4, pp.231-240. (In Persian)
23. Zikriarii Chafi, A., (2016), The role of the judicial system in protecting environmental rights and restoring public rights in the light of Article 50 of the Constitution, Master's thesis in criminal law and criminology, Islamic Azad University, Naraq Branch, p.96. (In Persian)