Restorative Justice as Freedom; An Effort to Understand the Position of Restorative Justice in Iran's Criminal Justice System

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Assistant Professor of Criminal Law and Criminology, Law Department, Institute for Political Studies, International Relations and Law, Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies, Tehran, Iran.

2 Assistant Professor of Political Science, Research Group on Political Theorizing in Iran, Institute for Political Studies, International Relations and Law, Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

The foundation of restorative justice is the principle of “freedom as non-domination”. This principle, apart from certain republican requirements, is based on the idea of “negative liberty”, which is a product of modern natural rights. Therefore, the realization of restorative justice necessitates conditions where the concept of natural rights is firmly established as incompatible with transcendent (divine) interpretation of the good. Consequently, adopting a “compatibilist” stance that emphasizes similarities between restorative justice and certain mechanisms found in non-liberal regimes does not seem justified. Strengthening restorative justice within Iran’s criminal justice system, especially in light of the increasing modernization in Iranian society, requires a reevaluation and alignment of lawmakers with the implications of freedom as the most crucial foundation of restorative justice. Thus, understanding the modernist foundations of restorative justice and acknowledging the existential realities of Iranian society are essential for bridging the inconsistencies in legal and judicial discourse towards a criminal system that aligns with objective transformations.

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Criminal Law Research
Volume 17, Issue 1 - Serial Number 33
Papers
July 2026
Pages 163-177

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