The Policy of Reducing Prison Population in Legislative System of Islamic Republic of Iran

Penological studies show that imprisonment has bad effects on the offender, his family and the society as a whole, and its benefits are less than its costs. Therefore, nowadays, public policy makers pay attention to the policy of reducing prison population as an example of depenalization. The study of this policy in Iranian legislative system at the different levels (ranging from high-level documents to ordinary laws), the review of changes in this regard, laws passed in compliance or in contrast with this policy and the answer to this question that how much existing laws are in accordance with this policy constitute the subjects of this article. The author examines the above-mentioned documents and concludes that the policy of reducing prison population that has been emphasized in high- level documents is not fully implemented in the legislation layer yet and despite the fact that some institutions are established especially in the framework of the Islamic Penal Code, some provisions hinder successful implementation of that policy or are totally against it. Finally, having identified legal gaps and defects, the author presents some solutions.