The Legitimacy of International Criminal Courts in Dealing with Environmental Crimes Caused by Oil Pollution from the Perspective of Islamic Jurisprudence

Environmental pollution caused by petroleum is one of the issues which is spreading today and causing irreparable damages, while the domestic courts of some countries, especially Islamic countries, are not able to or are less willing to prosecute the cases beyond their borders because of religious and legal barriers. Some of these crimes, especially environmental, are committed by the natural or legal persons of the Islamic countries or on the territories of these countries which have caused problems of jurisdictional conflict and other issues. The findings of the present study show that in the case of the exercise of international jurisdiction over the oil pollution offense, if the forensic investigators conclude that the investigation of such a crime would bring benefits to the Islamic Republic of Iran, such as bilateral agreements and acceptance, the legitimacy of referring disputes to the judgment of non-Muslims will be permitted. Therefore, this article examines the jurisdiction of international criminal tribunals in the cases dealing with environmental pollution caused by petroleum materials in the light of international law and present regulations in Islamic Sharia with a consideration of the theory of expediency set forth in Imamiyah jurisprudence.