Acta Universitatis Danubius. Juridica, Vol 6, No 3 (2010)

Abstract

The Principles of legality in crimes and punishments refer to the fact that an act is not considered a crime and deserves no punishment, until the legislator determines and announces the criminal title and its penalty. In Iranian legal system, before the Islamic Revolution and also after it, the Constitution and ordinary laws have explicitly emphasized the observance of the mentioned principle. When there is no text or in the case of the silence or lack of law, the criminal judge is bound to issue the verdict of innocence. According to the Rome statute the court shall exercise jurisdiction over the crime of aggressions once a provision is adopted. And, according to the article 121 and 123 defending the crime and setting out, the condition under which the Court shall exercise jurisdiction with respect to crimes such as provision shall be consisted of the head of the general principle the relevant provision of the charter of the United Nations. The principle of legality is set out in article 22 to 24 of the ICC statute. These norms are derived from the customary law and the national law. Article 15, International Covenant on Civil and Political rights, states that no one shall be found guilty of any criminal offence based on an act or omission which did not constitute a criminal offence under national or international laws at the time when it was committed. Yet, in the context of prosecuting mass atrocities, genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, international criminal law appears to be resigned to such a principle, if not openly including it. fact, that it may be considered the poor cousin of nullum crimen sine lege (no crime without law) which has attracted far greater consideration in scholarship and jurisprudence.