Assessment of Criminal Sanctions against Legal Persons; (the analysis of the Article 20 of the Islamic Penal Code ratified in 2013)

Inadequacy of the civil and disciplinary sanctions to control the riskful activities of the modern powers such as legal entities ultimately made the Iranian legal system to move beyond the sparse and case law, and recognize the criminal liability of those individuals, as a rule in the Islamic Penal Code (Article 143; ratified in 2013). Obviously, the effectiveness of this approach depends on the integrity of the sanctions commensurate with the culpability of legal entities. Therefore, it must be assessed whether or not the designed sanctions- dissolution, confiscation of property, prohibition of occupational or social activities, capital raising, prohibition of issuing some trade documents, fine and publishing sentence (Article 20)- are equivalent to the legal entities nature. Does the diversity of these reactions in a way that they can cope with crime control among these persons? Do the sanctions meet the particular goals of punishment such as deterrence and victim’s redress losses? And is there any separation among the sanctions with regard to the legal entities types (public or private being)? According to the present essay, the predicted sanctions are proportionate to the nature of the legal entities, but their diversity is relative. The remedial goals of the punishment and support the victim is more likely to be met than other objectives. Also, despite the separation between legal entities, there is no distinguished separation between the sanctions.