Analysis of awareness and attention in Article 290 of the Islamic Penal Code approved in 2013

Abstract

One of the important elements of intentional homicide is the psychological element. In fact, distinguishing intentional from unintentional murder is in their psychological element, which has various components, such as general malicious intent in the behavior or the intention of the intentional act in the result or the intention of the result. In Iranian criminal law, in addition to the element of "intention", the legislator has accepted "awareness and attention" as a rule of psychological element in intentional crimes only in typically lethal behaviors; In such a way that the lack of any of these two causes the non-compliance of the committed behavior with the title of intentional murder and as a result of its other forms. Each of these two has its own meaning; Awareness means inherent or acquired knowledge of an action that typically or personally or with regard to the prevailing circumstances causes murder, and attention is directed to the perpetrator at a certain time and place. The existence of awareness is not the proof of the existence of attention, and attention is not the proof of the existence of consciousness. The present article, while explaining the spiritual element of intentional homicide, considers awareness and attention as the most important and basic components of the spiritual element of intentional homicide, as well as the place and role of knowledge and will in realizing it. It analyzes intentional murder and its different stages.