An Analysis of the Impact of Excessive Criminalization on the Increase of Law Evasion; with Emphasis on the Legal System of Iran

Sdeghi, Mohamadmehdi; Javan Jafari, Abdoreza; Seyyeszadeh, Mehdi

doi:10.22106/jlj.2025.2044890.6094

An Analysis of the Impact of Excessive Criminalization on the Increase of Law Evasion; with Emphasis on the Legal System of Iran

Document Type : Research/Original/Regular Article

Authors

Mohamadmehdi Sdeghi ¹

abdoreza Javan Jafari ²

Mehdi Seyyeszadeh ³

¹ PhD Student of Criminal Law & Criminology, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

² Full Professor of Criminal Law & Criminology, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

³ Assistant Professor of Criminal Law & Criminology, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

10.22106/jlj.2025.2044890.6094

Abstract

Excessive criminalization, which refers to the criminalization of behaviors that should basically be legally permissible from a penal perspective, is a phenomenon that undermines public trust in the criminal justice system and increases law evasion. This research, which is of a fundamental theoretical type and descriptive and analytical in terms of method, seeks to analyze the reasons for the increase in law evasion in a situation of excessive criminalization. The findings indicate that the most important reasons are: first, undue interference in citizens' privacy and the imposition of restrictions on legitimate freedoms, which leads to resistance against obedience to the law; second, the criminogenic effect of over-punishments due to their lack of deterrent power, which strengthens the motivation to commit crimes; third, the saturation of the criminal justice system's capacity, which reduces its ability to deal with serious and dangerous offenses; fourth, excessive criminal protection of values, which turns some values into anti-values and desensitizes society; and fifth, the pretense of legalism, which results from the erosion in the moral authority of the law. In conclusion, excessive criminalization, by undermining the legitimacy of criminal law in the eyes of the people and creating numerous grounds for resistance against it, not only normalizes law evasion but also endangers the foundations of public order and the effectiveness of the criminal justice system.

Keywords

Criminal Justice Values

Excessive Criminalization

Law Evasion

Moral Authority of Law

Obedience to law

Subjects