Victimization of the Whales in Iranian Criminal Law: Protections and Challenges

Whales, as one of the rarest aqueous species of the world, which also include the largest animal known to have ever existed (blue whale), need special protection in criminal law. International environmental law has protected this species, which is in danger of extinction, by ratification of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling 1946 and the formation of relevant commission (IWC) and some other international instruments. But there are some challenges in the international system of protection of whales in relation to the definition of this species and the sanctions of violation of the Convention. Iranian criminal law has protected aquatic animals by the ratification of some general codes and criminalization of damaging acts like excessive fishing and polluting of sea waters. Despite these protections, Iranian criminal law faces some challenges like the ambiguity of the definition of the whale, the lack of convergence between domestic laws and international convention and the weakness of criminal responses as well as the identification of different species and the lack of special protection for the whales, lack of a comprehensive approach to the criminal protection of whales and identification of different sources of pollution.