A Comparison between the Two Notions of“Joint Criminal Enterprise” and “Leadership of Criminal Group”

The doctrine of “Joint Criminal Enterprise” is considered as a controversial form of criminal responsibility in international criminal law. This doctrine has been formed and developed in the light of the case law of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and has frequently been emphasized by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). On the other hand, in the Iranian criminal law, “Leadership of Criminal Group” is one of the innovations of Islamic Penal Code approved in 2013 reflected in its Article 130. In this article, the most important similarities and differences between these two legal institutions – the former being derived from international criminal law and the latter based on the Iranian criminal law - are discussed, and certain suggestions have been given to improve the Iranian law in this regard. Keywords: Joint Criminal Enterprise, Criminal Group, Leadership, Co-perpetration, Aiding and Abetting.