The Judiciarys Law Journal

The Judiciarys Law Journal

Analysis of the quality of the impact of overcriminalization on the increase of law breaking; With an emphasis on Iran's legal system

Document Type : Research/Original/Regular Article

Authors
1 Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
2 .
10.22106/jlj.2025.2044890.6094
Abstract
Overcriminalization means the criminalization of behaviors that should be allowed in principle, and law braking means committing a crime or having a negative attitude towards the law. The most harmful consequences of overcriminalization is the increase of law breaking in society; Because if citizens are punished for violating laws that a significant percentage of them consider unfair, public trust in the entire penal justice system and the ugliness of law breaking will gradually disappear, so that society no longer is sensitive to this issue. This research, which is kind of basic theoretical and descriptive in terms of its purpose, and the information was collected using Persian and English books and articles, seeks to answer the question What are the reasons for the increase in law breaking in the situation of overcriminalization? According to the research findings, Creating restrictions in the scope of freedoms and inappropriate interference in the privacy of citizens causes them to resist obeying the law, Overpunishments has a negative effect on the deterrence of punishments and, consequently, on the reduction of crime, overcriminalization reduces the capacity of the criminal justice system to effective counter with severe and dangerous crimes, and this issue strengthens the tendency to commit more crimes. Some values become anti-values with extreme criminal support and the society is no longer sensitive to the violation of those values, And finally, overcriminalization leads to formal legalism, which causes some people, while having a negative attitude towards the law, to obey only because they get a special benefit and privilege from doing so. With attention to these reasons, overcriminalization by reducing the moral authority of the criminal law and creating the motivation to commission of crime in people increases law breaking in the society.
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Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 30 October 2025

  • Receive Date 03 November 2024
  • Revise Date 15 December 2024
  • Accept Date 30 April 2025
  • First Publish Date 30 October 2025
  • Publish Date 30 October 2025