Volume 20, Issue 61 (4-2026)
MLJ 2026, 20(61): 125-141 |
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Rostami Lameshkan R, Esmaeili M, Haji Tabar Firouzjaei H, Abbasi A. Investigating Investigating the Relationship between Crimes against Water and the Human Right to Access Safe and Hygienic Drinking Water in Iranian Criminal Policy and the International Human Rights System. MLJ 2026; 20 (61) :125-141
URL: http://ijmedicallaw.ir/article-1-1817-en.html
URL: http://ijmedicallaw.ir/article-1-1817-en.html
1- Department of Law, Ayatollah Amoli Branch, Islamic Azad University, Amol, Iran.
2- Department of Law, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
3- Department of Law, Qaemshahr Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qaemshahr, Iran.
4- Department of Crminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of Law, Chalus Branch, Islamic Azad University, Chalus, Iran
2- Department of Law, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
3- Department of Law, Qaemshahr Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qaemshahr, Iran.
4- Department of Crminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of Law, Chalus Branch, Islamic Azad University, Chalus, Iran
Abstract:
Background and Aim: Crimes against water give rise to significant tensions among water users at both domestic and international levels. These crimes are further exacerbated by the growing scarcity of water resources worldwide, to the extent that, according to projections by the United Nations, by 2025 approximately two billion people will live in regions or conditions facing water scarcity. Undoubtedly, water constitutes one of the most essential components of the environment. Accordingly, crimes against water are classified, within Iranian criminal policy and most contemporary criminal justice systems, under the broader category of environmental crimes. The present study aims to: (i) evaluate Iran’s criminal policy regarding the relationship between crimes against water and the human right to access safe and hygienic drinking water; (ii) examine the approach of the international human rights system to this relationship; and (iii) identify similarities and differences between Iranian criminal policy and international human rights law in this regard.
Method: This study adopts a descriptive–analytical methodology. Data have been collected through library-based research, including primary sources in Iranian criminal policy, international human rights instruments, and secondary sources such as doctrinal literature and judicial practice.
Ethical Considerations: This research has been conducted in accordance with the principles of academic integrity, honesty, and non-discrimination.
Results: The findings indicate that the conceptual and functional linkage between the right to access safe water and the prevention of crimes against water has not been sufficiently clarified in Iranian criminal policy. In contrast, international human rights instruments—such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and specific instruments recognizing the human right to water—explicitly emphasize the necessity of such a linkage and the obligation of states to ensure it.
Conclusion: Unlike the international criminal policy approach, Iranian criminal policy does not clearly differentiate between serious (large-scale) and minor offences against water resources. However, offences such as large-scale pollution of water resources should, in principle, be subject to stringent criminal sanctions. Strengthening this differentiation, in line with the severity of harm, would enhance the effectiveness of environmental criminal policy and better align it with international standards.
Please cite this article as:
Rostami Lameshkan R, Esmaeili M, Haji Tabar Firouzjaei H, Abbasi A. Investigating the Relationship between Crimes against Water and the Human Right to Access Safe and Healthy Drinking Water in Iranian Criminal Policy and the International Human Rights System. Medical Law Journal. 2026; 20: e9.
Method: This study adopts a descriptive–analytical methodology. Data have been collected through library-based research, including primary sources in Iranian criminal policy, international human rights instruments, and secondary sources such as doctrinal literature and judicial practice.
Ethical Considerations: This research has been conducted in accordance with the principles of academic integrity, honesty, and non-discrimination.
Results: The findings indicate that the conceptual and functional linkage between the right to access safe water and the prevention of crimes against water has not been sufficiently clarified in Iranian criminal policy. In contrast, international human rights instruments—such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and specific instruments recognizing the human right to water—explicitly emphasize the necessity of such a linkage and the obligation of states to ensure it.
Conclusion: Unlike the international criminal policy approach, Iranian criminal policy does not clearly differentiate between serious (large-scale) and minor offences against water resources. However, offences such as large-scale pollution of water resources should, in principle, be subject to stringent criminal sanctions. Strengthening this differentiation, in line with the severity of harm, would enhance the effectiveness of environmental criminal policy and better align it with international standards.
Please cite this article as:
Rostami Lameshkan R, Esmaeili M, Haji Tabar Firouzjaei H, Abbasi A. Investigating the Relationship between Crimes against Water and the Human Right to Access Safe and Healthy Drinking Water in Iranian Criminal Policy and the International Human Rights System. Medical Law Journal. 2026; 20: e9.
Keywords: Crimes against Water, Sustainable Development, Environmental Crimes, Human Rights, Iranian Criminal Policy, Public Health Protection
Type of Study: Original Article |
Received: 2024/05/20 | Accepted: 2025/03/3
Received: 2024/05/20 | Accepted: 2025/03/3
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