حقوق و توسعه

Preventive Justice: Theoretical foundations and legal procedures; comparative study in the Law of Iran, the US and France

Pursuant to the principle of legality and the presumption of innocence, recognized as fundamental guarantees in a democratic society, no one may be sentenced or punished unless he/she has committed an act which, according to the law as it was at the time of the act, constituted a criminal offense, and no one may be considered guilty, unless his guilt has been established beyond reasonable doubt following a fair trial. However fair and just these principles may be, they make the criminal justice processes retrospective and time-consuming. Nevertheless, as far as crime prevention and control is concerned, it could be doubted that any legal system can be efficient, if it does not have some procedures to stop criminal acts speedily and prospectively. When a criminal offense, whether intentional or not, is expected to be committed or is proceeding, every legal system has to have some coercive measures for the protection of society from imminent dangerous behavior and/or harmful consequences. This is why one can discuss “preventive justice” or the “prevention of crime law” as an important subject. The rule of law requires that any coercive preventive measures infringing upon individual freedom are not taken arbitrarily, and are used in accordance with the principle of proportionality. These measures (which may be considered independent from the “sentence” passed by a tribunal as such) are the subject of my research.

I want to find out how and through what processes, can criminal offenses be legally and fairly prevented? Can the State’s use of coercive preventive measures be justified even before any criminal act has been committed or proven? What is the difference between what we term “preventive justice” and pre-punishment? What is the legal framework in which “Preventive Justice” should work?

I plan to explore and describe legal practices and measures enforced to prevent and frustrate criminal behavior. In other words, I am concerned with measures taken through criminal justice or other legal processes which are preventive rather than punitive in the law of the US, France and Iran . I want to analyze them from a criminological as well as legal prospective, examining the rationale behind of such “coercive measures” that states now take in the name of prevention and public protection, and find out the best practices in this regard.