“Reputational Harm” as the Core of Criminal Defamation in Iranian Criminal Law

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Law, Faculty of Law, Political Science and History, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran.

2 PhD in Jurisprudence and Criminal Law, Department of Jurisprudence and Criminal Law, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, Meybod University, Meybod, Iran.

Abstract

Criminal defamation is an offense against a person’s moral and social personality and has long been recognized in Iranian criminal legislation. Its current statutory basis is Article 697 of Book Five of the Islamic Penal Code. Judicial decisions reveal substantial disagreement over the elements of the offense. Some courts require that the attribution of a crime be disseminated in a manner capable of damaging the victim’s social reputation, while others consider a direct accusation communicated only to the person concerned sufficient. The same disagreement appears in criminal-law doctrine. Using a descriptive-analytical method and drawing on legislative studies, principles of jurisprudence, interpretation, and ethics, this article examines whether dissemination is a constitutive condition of criminal defamation. It concludes that the true object of the prohibition in Article 697 is not the bare attribution of an offense, but the reputational harm caused by attributing criminal conduct to another. The article accordingly proposes amendments that would state the dissemination requirement more clearly.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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Studies of Islamic Jurisprudence and Basis of Law
Volume 20, Issue 53 - Serial Number 53
September 2026
Pages 53-72

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