Possibility of criminal sanctions on legal persons of public law

Legislator in the note of Article 20 of the Islamic Penal Code except legal persons of public law to punish in cases where they exercise sovereignty. Nevertheless, determining the examples of these individuals in practice and that In what cases do these individuals exercise sovereignty, it's not easy. In addition, there are some private entities which the nature of their actions is in the public service, however, they are not exempted from the punishments of Article 20 and their punishment may cause problems in practice. Another ambiguity is that the persons mentioned in the note, if In the direction of non-sovereignty, commit crimes, are there any penalties applicable to them? Given these ambiguities, this research distinguishes between actions of sovereignty Non-sovereignty and defines the causes of exempting legal persons of public law from punishment and investigates the impossibility of imposing any punishment in sovereign affairs. It seeks to highlight the types of legal persons of public law and the status of private professional systems such as some private individuals in charge of public services.