Perjury and Concealment of Evidence in the Law of Aancient Mesopotamia, Iran and Islam

Historical documents and evidences discovered by archaeologists show that legislation in its primary traditional form -namely anything has been remained from codes, epistles, the decrees of kings, recorded rulings in courts, judicial customs and habits, and doctrine- and modern form regars the testimony of witnesses as an important proof of guilt. Meanwhile "perjury" and "concealment of evidence" lead to an ominous phenomenon in the process of trial and it had not been ignored by the historians. From the substantive viewpoint, convicting to fine and compensation, cutting of the hands and tongue, and even depriving the life have been proven for the witness who had the falsely testify in the history of Mesopotamia and Iran’s law. The concealment of evidence has been criminalized only in particular times in history. In Islamic Law the punishment of perjury is the Ta`zir of witness and the type of this punishment was delegated to the discretion of the Islamic governor, and if the perjury lead to the death of an individual, the false witness is punished, and if the perjury had the retribution, it is executed for that testimony, and if lead to the blood money, it would be upn the false witness. From the procedural view, if the perjury is proven before the finality of verdict, reconsideration is allowed, and if the perjury is proven after the finality of verdict, judicial review is allowed. In the contemporary law of Iran, concealment of testimony, though is a great sin and bad practice, but has not been criminalized.