The Autonomy of Criminal Law vis-à-vis Civil Law: Foundations and Challenges

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Professor, Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of Law, University of Qom, Qom, Iran.

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of Law, University of Qom, Qom, Iran.

3 PhD Candidate in Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of Law, University of Qom, Qom, Iran.

Abstract

Criminal law, as a branch of public law, is closely connected with public order and security. Civil law, by contrast, is concerned with the private relations of individuals and seeks to regulate such relations. The two fields are therefore distinct in terms of their fundamental concepts, a distinction that has given rise to questions concerning the nature and limits of their relationship and the boundaries between them. In some instances, theories developed within criminal law cannot achieve their intended effect without consideration of their civil-law dimensions. This makes an examination of the relationship between criminal and civil law necessary. This study adopts a descriptive-analytical and library-based method and, in order to illustrate the issues under discussion more concretely, refers to certain judicial decisions and cases that bear on the subject. The central issue examined is whether criminal law is autonomous from, or subordinate to, civil law. The study argues that disputes arising within these two fields cannot readily be resolved without examining the foundations of their distinction and the consequences flowing from it. The principal findings are, first, that an examination of the views of legal scholars and legal philosophers supports the conclusion that criminal law possesses autonomy from civil law; and, second, that criminal and civil law interact in a variety of contexts. These interactions include areas of overlap between the two fields, recourse to civil-law rules where criminal legislation is silent, and, finally, conflicts between the rules governing the two domains.

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Journal of Comparative Public Law
Volume 3, Issue 2 - Serial Number 10
September 2026
Pages 1-28

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