Death Penalty for Drug-Related Offences in Iran’s Legal System under International Human Rights Norms: Abolition or Maintenance?

Iran legal system like some other legal systems recognizes and applies the death penalty for drug-related offenses. On the other hand, many States have abolished the death penalty in their laws or practice or at least do not apply it in cases relating to drug-related offenses. So, the main question of this article is whether or not Iran’s criminal policy in this regard is compatible with international human rights norms. Present studies show that under international human rights law, especially under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the application of capital punishment, while not prohibited, is restricted in exceptional ways. The death penalty may be imposed only for the most serious crimes under some requirements. The studies show that drug-related offenses do not have exceptional feature and they are not an instance of “most serious crimes”, and so could not be subject to capital punishments. Thus, Iran has to abolish the death penalty for drug-related offenses in the light of its international and human rights obligations which would be more compatible with constitutional and Islamic foundations of its own legislation.