Principles of Criminalization of Legal Actions

Today, criminal intervention in the domain of private law is deemed unavoidable. Despite facing opposition, Iranian legislators firmly hold the belief that merely imposing restrictions on individuals' volition is insufficient. Through the implementation of criminal enforcement measures, they strive to safeguard the broader societal interests. Criminal intervention in contractual relations between contracting parties serves two primary purposes firstly, to ensure compliance with established legal procedures, and secondly, to prevent the misuse of contracts as a means to evade debt obligations. However, it is crucial to recognize that criminal intervention in individuals' private relations is restricted by the principles of freedom and self-determination. Appealing to criminal enforcement should be considered a last resort. Therefore, the application of criminal enforcement requires a reasoned approach. This research aims to elucidate the foundations and principles underlying the criminalization of legal actions by employing the analytical-descriptive methodology. The research findings indicate that the rules pertaining to the preservation of order, the principle of non-harm, and the principle of exigency and emergency can be regarded as the textual and theoretical foundations for the criminalization of legal actions.