A Critical Examination of the Legal Foundations of Punishing Economic Disruptors in Iran’s Criminal Policy

Abstract

The purpose of this descriptive–analytical study is to explain the legal foundations of Iran’s criminal policy in dealing with economic disruptors and to answer the question of whether the criminal sanctions derived from these foundations possess the necessary effectiveness to prevent and confront such offenses. Economic crimes are among the phenomena of the modern world that—due to their direct impact on increasing delinquency in society and on the economic stability and security of the market—have gained particular importance. Beyond this, the preservation of moral values, justice, and the rule of law is also grounded in economic security. These types of offenses are of such importance that the Iranian criminal legislator, as the first and most effective means of prevention and confrontation, has enacted legal provisions to address them. The offense of disrupting the economic system includes 30 criminal instances, thoroughly addressed in the Law on the Punishment of Disruptors of the Economic System of the Country. Criminal policy seeks to control delinquency and prevent criminal phenomena, and its purpose in the economic sphere is to combat economic corruption and prevent its negative consequences for individuals and the system. Governments, through policymaking and the enactment of various laws, have sought to establish economic stability as the most fundamental component of security. However, Iran’s legislative policy in this domain, which is based on intimidation and punitive severity, cannot be regarded as an effective criminal policy for curbing delinquency—particularly corruption—in the economic system.