مرور زمان در جرايم مستوجب حد و تعزير

Statutes of Limintations in Crimes Entailing Fixed and Discretionary Punishments

Statutes of limitations in Islamic punishments (Hadd - Taʹzir) mean that after the lapse of a specified peried subsequent to the commission of crime, criminal prosecution or issuance of sentence or its implementation would be barred. Statutes of limitations are recognized in most judicial systems of the world; in Iran they were applied prior to 1979 in all crimes pursuant to Articles 49 to 53 of the Criminal Code. But after the victory of the Islamic Revolution they were abrogated because of being considered contrary to the Islamic law (steariah). Due to some executive and judicial problems, however, they were again recognized in certain cases including those under Articles 173 to 175 of the Criminal Procedure Law of 1999.In Sunni jurisprndence, the discretionary punishments are subject to the lapse of time in Godʹs rights and the public rights. But no such opinion exists in Shiʹa jurisprudence. However, relying on the general principle thereof, we might argue for the adoption of the doctrine. The paper first exposes the famous opinions in different Islamic schools of jurisprudence relating to the statutes of limitations in both fixed and discretionary punishments and then studies the possibility of their adoption on the basis of Islamic perspective.