The capacity of the mentally ill patient and the role of Imami jurisprudence and Iranian criminal law in preventing his crime and sacrifice

Abstract

Mental health is not limited to the absence of mental disorders, but also includes competence in the social environment. The right to mental health is dependent on government support for those suffering from mental disorders, and government intervention is to provide an environment that paves the way for the realization of this right. The ineffectiveness of the legislative and executive authorities in providing resources and facilities and removing existing obstacles places the duty of bringing a lawsuit for violations of the rights of individuals - especially the mentally ill - on the judiciary. Some neurological and mental illnesses - such

as insanity, imbecility and dementia - appear in addition to causing restrictions in the implementation of the rights of the sick person, and can also cause the patient's criminality or sacrifice. Therefore, it is very important to determine the extent of the criminal responsibility of a patient with a mental disorder. Also, the victim suffering from these disorders can sometimes mitigate or increase the punishment of the offender. In criminal justice systems, with the help of the legal concept of "diminished responsibility", they try to explain why and how a group of criminals who suffer from some kind of abnormality in mental performance behave. This article, using an analytical approach within the framework of Imami jurisprudence and criminal psychology, presents the progress in Iranian criminal law in supporting victims and criminals with mental and psychological disorders - especially in the "Executive Regulations for the Maintenance and Treatment of the Insane" (2021), the "Draft Law on the Protection of the Rights of Persons with Mental Disorders" (2022), the Islamic Penal Code, and the Code of Criminal Procedure (2013) - and explains how the Iranian legislator combined jurisprudential foundations with Western laws and approved these laws within the framework of criminology, criminal psychology, and criminal policy with a modern and religious approach. These legal developments can inspire criminal laws in other countries.