Atefeh Sheikheslami, 28.05.2018

While over the last few decades, each country has its own domestic criminalization independently based on domestic principles, rules, necessities and obstacles, today, we see deep changes in the concept of criminalization because of the various developments in different aspects of human life which have been occurred in the light of globalization specially globalization of economical and cultural aspects, information and communication technology and developments in transportation.

Changes in the concept of criminalization is the result of the black side of globalization, i.e. emergence and development of a new classification of crimes which we called them “Transnational organized crimes” or committing old crimes in the new capacity and ways which are resulted from globalization.

Necessity of international cooperation between countries against transnational organized crimes

As these transnational organized crimes have specific traits, the appropriate policy to combat and prevent such crimes are completely different from domestic and traditional crimes as murder or robbery.

Transnational organized crimes are complicated, organized, committed in different zones so, lots of countries and criminals and victims from different nationalities are involved in such crimes. e.g. Human trafficking as a transnational organized crime commits in a different countries including home country, Transit and mainline countries and finally destination zones. So, in such situation, only one country can not claim that it can combat and prevent from committing such crimes lonely because as this crime is committed transnationally, it is necessary that the mechanisms of prevention and combating them be transnational too.

In this process, international documents are the most important mechanisms to get plural criminal laws closer together for the purpose of taking effective policy against transnational organized crimes which are a serious threat to the order and security of the world[1].

United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocols Thereto and specifically the first Protocol “ Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children“ are the good example of such necessities to international cooperation in order to prevent and combat effectively against the transnational organized crime, an international document which can make plural criminal laws closer together in this special area. But, Cooperation between states about transnational organized crimes not only happened by international documents but also it can happen in regional documents or between two or more countries even in different zones as “agreement contract on cooperation between Islamic Republic of Iran and Poland against transnational organized crime” is an good example of the effort of countries to understand necessity of international cooperation against such crimes. The code of cooperation agreement between Islamic republic of Iran and Poland has been approved by Iranian parliament in 2016-12-07 and it contains cooperation in the purpose of preventing and identifying the criminals in the following crimes:

1. Terrorist crimes;
2. Preparation, production, accumulation, distribution, transporting, Trafficking in narcotic drug and psychotropic substances and basic chemical substances;
3. Combating with human trafficking;
4. Forging a passport, visa or the other official documents;
5. Forging Currency and securities;
6. Money laundering;
7. Computer crimes and other crimes committed using electronic telecommunication facilities;
8. Smuggling firearms, ammunition and hazardous materials;
9. Smuggling cultural and historical properties;
10. Crimes against the natural environment protected legally.

Decending Criminalization; necessities and obstacles:

Decending criminalization [2]  as an alternative to traditional and domestic criminalization is a most important result of transnational organized crimes i.e. criminalizing a behavior as an international norm in an international document like human trafficking then the state parties absorb and integrate such norm (Specially in Binding conventions) in their domestic law based on their domestic legal rules and principles, necessities and obstacles.

But There is still some serious problem as different states have different reactions and polices about these international documents specially binding contracts which have vital role in getting plural criminal law closer against the transnational crimes. Some of the states do not sign or  ratify the said documents or they do not cooperate in the process of absorption and integration of the international norms in effective and appropriate way prescribed by conventions and documents and their actions in such cases might be selective e.g. they might just absorb and integrate criminalization of a behavior or mechanisms about punishment without taking account to preventive or supportive policies or cooperate in the process of absorption and integration of such international norms in a selective way and far from the effective frameworks prescribed by conventions. The result is approving domestic codes which are incomplete, ineffective or obscure toward the purpose of the conventions. A serious obstacle in effective combating with transnational organized crimes.

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[1] Najafi-e- Abrandabadi, Ali Hossein, Nationalization of Criminal Law and International Academic Interactions, Presentations In: Razavi Fard, Behzad (in an effort), Effects of French Criminal Law-Collected Papers and Speeches by Michel Meshe and Bernard Zieber, Allameh Tabatabai University Press, Tehran: Winter 1395 (2017), p. 5.

[2] Najafi-e-Abrandabadi, Ali Hossein, Criminal law at the beginning of the third millennium, preview on : George P. Fletcher, “ Basic concepts of criminal law”, Translated by: Seyed Mehdi-e- seyyedzadeh sani, Mashhad, Razavi University of Islamic Sciences Press, Fourth edition, 1394 (2016), p. 6.