Chapter 1 General Principles and Definitions

Article 6

Return of Goods Acquired Through Crime and Compensation for Losses Resulting from Crime

1–) If a person, who is punished in accordance with the provisions of this law, has acquired a good through crime he shall be adjudged to return the good, and if the good should not be available, to return the same or its price to its owner.

Section 2 Crimes

Part 3 Legal Element

Chapter 3 Association in Crime

Part 2 Alliance in Crime

Article 52

(1) The punishment contained in article 50 and 51 of this Law shall not be applied to persons who inform the concerned authorities of association in crime, provided that the information is communicated before the felony or misdemeanor is committed and before the said authorities begin inspection and investigation.

Section 3 Perpetrator

Chapter 1 Penal Responsibility and its Obstacles

Part 2 Obstacles to Penal Responsibility

First Topic - Sensual Indisposition

Subtopic 3 - Age

Article 76

Alternatives for Punishment of Minors Who Commit Felonies

(1) If the minor commits a felony, whose punishment is death or continued imprisonment, the court can order his quarantine in the Correction House or charity organizations or corrective schools, provided its duration is not more than 5 years.

(2) If the anticipated punishment for the felony is long imprisonment, the period of quarantine cannot be less than 1 year and more than 4 years.

Section 3 Perpetrator

Chapter 1 Penal Responsibility and its Obstacles

Part 2 Obstacles to Penal Responsibility

First Topic - Sensual Indisposition

Subtopic 3 - Age

Article 86

Consideration of Age at Issuance of Verdict and Effect on Punishment of Teenagers

2– If the crime which the said teenager has committed is a felony or misdemeanor for which the anticipated punishment in the law is long or medium imprisonment, the court can instead of quarantine in the Correction House sentence him to medium imprisonment for misdemeanor.

Section 3 Trial

Chapter 10 Preparing the Sentence and Its Announcement

Dissenting Vote

Article 231:

(1) If one of the members of the judicial panel does not agree with the other members, he/she is obligated to record their vote and reasons after the decision is written.

(2) The judge cannot abstain from voting.

Section 3 Trial

Chapter 10 Preparing the Sentence and Its Announcement

Issuance of the Sentence

Article 232:

(1) The sentence in the court is issued beginning with the name of Allah.

(2) Upon announcing the sentence during the judicial session, the satisfaction or dissatisfaction of the accused person or his/her legal representative is written down on the sentence paper.

Section 3 Trial

Chapter 10 Preparing the Sentence and Its Announcement

Issuance of the Sentence Based on Reasons Proposed During the Trial

Article 233:

(1) The court issues a sentence based on the evidence presented during the trial. However, it cannot issue a sentence based on evidence not presented in the court or based on personal information.

(2) The court cannot issue a sentence based on papers and documents if basic principles were not observed in their collection in accordance with the provisions of this law.

Section 3 Trial

Chapter 10 Preparing the Sentence and Its Announcement

Open Sentence Announcement

Article 234:

(1) The sentence shall be announced openly in any case even if the trial was a closed session.

(2) The court may take measures to ensure that the accused person is present while the sentence is announced. These measures may include arrest warrant and detention of the accused person.

Section 3 Trial

Chapter 10 Preparing the Sentence and Its Announcement

Acquittal of the Accused Person

Article 235:

If the court reaches a conclusion that no crime was committed or the collected evidence for accusation are either insufficient or not attributed adequately to the accused person, it shall issue an acquittal verdict and he/she shall be released if he/she has not been detained for committing another crime.

Section 3 Trial

Chapter 10 Preparing the Sentence and Its Announcement

Limitation of Verdict on the Contents of Litigation

Article 236:

The accused person shall not be punished for offenses which are not included in the indictment; nor shall a person be punished against whom no indictment was issued.

Section 3 Trial

Chapter 10 Preparing the Sentence and Its Announcement

Altering the Nature of Accusation

Article 237:

(1) The court can alter the criminal charge attributed to the accused person in its decision. It can also amend the mitigating or aggravating factors which were identified during the investigation or during the trial, even if it is not listed in the indictment.

(2) The court may make corrections and eliminate mistakes that appear in the phrasing of the indictment.

(3) The court is obligated to inform the prosecutor and the accused person in writing of any corrections and amendments made to the indictment. If the prosecutor or the accused person or his/her legal representative ask time to prepare objection or defense statement for alteration in crime attribution and its nature or amendment of accusation, the court will give them time.

Section 3 Trial

Chapter 10 Preparing the Sentence and Its Announcement

Decision Based on Demands of the Plaintiff’s Right

Article 238:

In addition to observance of other provisions set forth in this law, the court is obligated to render a decision on demands of plaintiff’s right while issuing a verdict for the criminal case.

Section 3 Trial

Chapter 10 Preparing the Sentence and Its Announcement

Stating Grounds for Sentence

Article 239:

(1) It is necessary to include the grounds for a sentence in a decision.

(2) A sentencing decision shall include the incident deserving punishment, its manner and the articles of law based on which the sentence is issued.

Section 3 Trial

Chapter 10 Preparing the Sentence and its Announcement

Proceeding With the Presented Claims

Article 240:

The court is obligated to proceed with the demands presented by the litigants as a secondary claim after stating the grounds for sentence.

Section 3 Trial

Chapter 10 Preparing the Sentence and Its Announcement

Time Limit for Writing, Signing and Stamping the Decision

Article 241:

The sentence shall be written within (10) days from its issuance. It shall be signed, stamped and issued by both the presiding judge as well as the panel of judges.

Section 3 Trial

Chapter 10 Preparing the Sentence and Its Announcement

Assigning Another Judge to Sign and Stamp

Article 242:

If a decision is issued and announced by the primary court, and the primary court’s judge has written the grounds and summary of the decision in his/her own handwriting but due to an excuse cannot sign the copies of the decision, the director of the appeals court while observing the provisions of law can assign another judge to sign and stamp it. This provision is applicable only when there is no more than one judge assigned in the court.

Contents of Decision Article 243:

(1) A court decision contains an introduction, description, evidence and summary of the decision.

(2) The introduction contains the following:

1– Date of court hearing.

2– Court name, names of the judges, prosecutor and defense attorney.

3– Personal information of the accused person, date (day, month, year) and place of birth, nationality, level of education, place of residence, place of work, marital status, health status, criminal record and other significant information.

(3) The description contains the following:

1– Description of the crime and its evidence.

2– Location of the crime, time and the way the crime was committed.

3– Aggravating and mitigating circumstances of the criminal act.

4– Outcome of the crime.

5– Complete personal information of the accomplices of the crime.

6– Behavior of the accused person before committing the crime.

7– The evidence based on which the court came to a conclusion.

8– Reasons based on which the court excludes some of the evidence of accusation.

9– Court’s arguments on changing of the legal attribution of the crime if the criminal charge was amended.

10– Determination of the extent of the punishment considering the aggravating and mitigating circumstances of the crime.

(4) The summary of the decision contains the following:

1– Name of the accused person.

2– Citation of the articles of the law.

3– Defining the principle and complementary punishments, and thespecifications and circumstances for implementation.

4– Observing and accounting for the amount of time previously spent in detention or jail in calculation of punishment.

5– Description of security precautions, if required.

6– Describing and identifying the goods to be confiscated or returned and making a decision with regard to the seized goods if the necessary grounds exist.

7– Decision on private rights claim.

(5) If the court acquits the accused, it is obligated to state the reasons for acquittal and dismissal of the prosecutor’s accusation.