Criminology Analysis of Disobedience against Law Enforcement Officers

Maintaining the authority of the state and providing the facilities and conditions for the officials to carry out their missions is one of the conditions for the exercise of sovereignty. The disobedience of individuals against officials under either titles of "attack” or “resistance" in Iran's criminal, under certain conditions, leads to the realization of the crime of disobedience. One of the essential conditions for the commission of this crime is that the government official is in the process of carrying out his duties. If these officials are acting within the limits of their assigned duties and their competence and authority, their acts are legal and as a result, attack or resistance to them in this case is considered as a disobedience. If they are acting outside the limits of their assigned duties and their competence and authority, their acts are illegal. There is a great deal of disagreement in this assumption about resistance to them. Some argue that resistance to such illegal acts is absolutely permissible, and on the contrary, some believe that any resistance to government officials, even if their actions are contrary to law, is not right. In addition, some have chosen a moderate position and differentiated between the various cases. The Iranian law and judicial procedure are centered on the third theory. In Iran's criminal law, resistance to acts outside the limits of the government official's assigned duties and their competence and authority is not only not a disobedience, but in some cases, is called legitimate defense. In addition, the assault to law enforcement officers has legal, criminal, social, cultural, economic and other causes. The current rules have a gap that needs to be filled in with preventive measures, including amendments to articles 607 and 609 of the Islamic Penal Code, and with increasing penalties in the above cases.