The Concept and Types of Judicial Discretion in Light of Philosophical Thought and Its Manifestations in Iran's Legislative Criminal Policy

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 No

2 atu university

Abstract

Judicial discretion is one of the fundamental concepts in the philosophy of law. This study aims to clarify the concept of judicial discretion and analyze Iran's legislative criminal policy toward it by revisiting the major jurisprudential theories in this field and evaluating their reflection in the Iranian legislative system. The findings indicate that judicial discretion is not merely a consequence of the indeterminacy of legal language; rather, the quality of legislation also constitutes an independent variable that plays a fundamental role. Accordingly, judicial discretion is defined as the normative authority of judges to choose among several legally permissible outcomes. Furthermore, by distinguishing between weak and strong discretion, on the one hand, and explicit and implicit discretion, on the other, the study proposes an appropriate analytical framework for evaluating legislative criminal policy.

Ultimately, the study concludes that judicial discretion is an inevitable feature of every legal system. The principal challenge, therefore, is not its elimination but its management and regulation within the framework of the rule of law. So improving the quality of legislation and precisely defining the scope of judicial intervention as a means of controlling judicial discretion constitute the most important mechanisms for legitimizing judicial discretion in Iran's criminal.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Criminal Law Doctrines

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 28 September 2026

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History

  • Receive Date: 19 July 2026
  • Revise Date: 22 September 2026
  • Accept Date: 26 September 2026
  • Publish Date: 28 September 2026

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