The challenge of balancing the rights of the plaintiff and the defendant in light of the reform-oriented approach of the Iranian criminal legislator

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Law Department, Rah Danesh Institute of Higher Education

2 PhD student in Criminal Law and Criminology, University of Mazandaran

Abstract
In recent years, those involved in our country's judicial system have tried to benefit from new ‎scientific and empirical achievements in enacting criminal laws and regulations, paying special ‎attention to new developments in the fields of criminology and penal science. This attention, ‎especially in some areas, has led to the introduction of institutions such as suspension of ‎punishment, postponement of sentencing, and conditional release into the country's penal ‎system, with the influence of the teachings and discourses of international criminal law and ‎modern criminology. On the other hand, in some cases, our legislation, due to the influence of ‎Sharia and social requirements, has defined institutions such as pardon and repentance as tools ‎on the path of reform and rehabilitation of criminals. The main goal of these measures has been ‎to reform the behavior and rehabilitation of criminals, and the legislator has tried to guide the ‎country's penal system towards rehabilitation and reform, focusing on protecting the rights of ‎the accused. However, this focus has sometimes been such that the necessary balance between ‎the rights of the plaintiff and the accused has been disrupted. In such a way that some of the ‎rights of the plaintiffs of crimes have been weakened in the new laws and in some cases have ‎even been damaged. Therefore, it can be said that the recent criminal legislation has become a ‎law that protects the accused rather than creating a proper balance between the rights of the ‎parties. Ultimately, this trend reflects the challenge that legislators face; a challenge that requires ‎reviewing and creating a logical balance between the rights of the accused and the plaintiff so ‎that the country's criminal system, while maintaining justice, can also achieve the goals of ‎reform and rehabilitation.‎

Keywords


  • Receive Date 11 October 2025
  • Revise Date 12 December 2025
  • Accept Date 30 January 2026
  • First Publish Date 30 January 2026
  • Publish Date 30 January 2026