Criminal Laws Regarding Polygamy

The involvement of criminal laws regarding the limitation of freedom for citizens is to determine what is considered a crime. Crimnal laws are affected by social, political and cultural policy and are under the influence of such factors. There are two diverse laws on polygamy.One is the government enforces it as a law and therefore it is considered a crime. Whereas according to the other law it is permissible only under certain rules and conditions. Therefore if they don’t abide by these rules they will be prosecuted. This article studies the legal position of these laws in comparative law, and what are the basis of it's approval in Iranian criminal law, which has faced numerous hurdles and problems during the last 40 years. As the draft of the family support bill presented in the Islamic assembly in which polygamy was not considered a crime, it has made it necessary to study this issue.