The philosophy of "Ehsan" in Sexual Offences Requiring Fixed Punishments (Based on the Islamic criminal law of Iran, 2013 penal Code)

In Islamic criminal law, substantiation of Ehsan, undeniably affects the punishment of sexual offenses. Ehsan is defined as a situation when an adult man or woman-being permanently married- having the experience of vaginal sexual intercourse with his or her spouse in state of maturity and sanity, in which both men and women have the possibility to have sexual intercourses again and repeatedly whenever they want. For instance in terms of rape, which the death penalty is required , Ehsan will not have any effects , in other words, for imposing punishment it is not important that the rapist to be married or single, however, in some circumstances it would amount to both Rajm (stoning) and Jald ( i.e. lashing one hundred times) or it would intensify the punishment (i.e from Jald to Rajm) .Nevertheless according to the Islamic criminal law of Iran, 2013 penal Code, with the permission of judiciary head, the court has been given the authority to mitigate mentioned punishment to the Execution ( a type of death penalty other than Rajm) or Jald when imposing of Rajm is not possible. Although such flexibility is admirable, the code is criticized at this context by the experts. The 2013 code in terms of sodomy recognize Ehsan as a requirement for intensifying the punishment of Jald (Lashing) to the death penalty, but the code does not apply Ehsan to intensify the punishment of lesbianism. In some sexual offences, regardless of the punishment, Ehsan will change the situation of an offender from undeserved for the death penalty to deserve it. This article at first is to have a review over the effects of Ehsan on sexual offences, and then explains the etiology of intensification of punishment in this regard; and finally criticizes the new provisions on Rajm in Islamic criminal law of Iran, 2013 penal Code.