The Juridical Grounds of the Right of the Accused to Keep Silence in Penal Actions

Just investigation in penal affairs depends upon observance of the rights of parties to suit to fulfill their justified claims. Because of the critical position of the accused in the above process, adjudication systems have attached particular importance to his rights. One of the rights of the accused is his right to keep silence about the accusations; in other words,the legal authorities are not entitled to force him to provide replies, or interpret his avoidance of providing replies against him. More than 1000 years ago, when in adjudication systems such a right had not been recognized for the accused at all, relying on the divine teachings of Islam,the penal jurisprudence of Islam has explained this point so that a suitable ground might be provided to realize justice.In the present article, the right of the accused to keep silence is, based on dividing crimes committed into crimes against "rights of God" and "rights of people", intended. Also, its grounds and reasons have been discussed.