Jurisprudential and legal feasibility of criminal protection of spiritual heritage by looking at international documents

Spiritual heritage, as an intangible type of cultural heritage, refers to the set of beliefs, beliefs, customs, traditions, arts and performances of a nation or society, which are rooted in their history and culture and are respected and honored by the people of that nation or society. Despite Iran's accession to the Spiritual Heritage Convention (2003) and the commitment to protect this heritage, the lack of separate regulations for the protection and protection of spiritual heritage is an issue that has caused violations of this heritage to not be accompanied by appropriate legal responses. This research deals with the case of exploration in this regard with the theoretical method and tools of criminal law. The main question of this article focuses on the possibility or impossibility of criminal response to the transgressors of spiritual heritage in Iranian law, so that the possibility of criminal treatment of the perpetrators of violation of spiritual heritage in terms of criminal law and Islamic jurisprudence can be investigated. Finally, by examining the existing regulations and their compliance with the Convention on Intellectual Heritage as well as with the laws and practices of some countries, it has been concluded that by applying the existing regulations and providing a logical interpretation of the laws, only a few cases of violation can be criminally responded to. There is a spiritual heritage and the criminal protection of this heritage requires the development of comprehensive regulations and obstacles in this regard.