Modern criminal policy in Iran, in light of the Islamic Penal Code of 2013, has prioritized the transition from incarceration to alternatives to imprisonment, with the aim of offender rehabilitation and combating penal population inflation. However, the application and execution of mandatory alternatives face interpretative challenges, implementation ambiguities, and conflicts with other statutes. These instances include: the independent versus lenient nature of prison alternatives, ambiguity in the concept of "short-term imprisonment," the scope of Article 69 of the Islamic Penal Code (IPC), the interpretation of Unification Judgment No. 746 of the General Board of the Supreme Court, the interaction of mandatory alternatives with special laws (such as the Law on the Collection of Certain Government Revenues), the limited scope of mandatory alternatives, and other issues discussed in detail in this article.



Using a descriptive-analytical method with a novel applied approach, the current research examines the legal foundations and judicial precedent (including advisory opinions, judicial meetings, and judgments) regarding Articles 65 to 69 of the IPC. Research findings indicate that mandatory alternatives to imprisonment possess the nature of a principal and independent punishment; their application is a mandatory duty for the judicial authority and is not contingent upon the complainant's waiver or the existence of mitigating circumstances.

Furthermore, the analysis of criminal offenses reveals that the scope of Article 65 of the IPC has been limited due to various reasons. Additionally, regarding the challenges of Article 69 and the prohibitions of Article 71 of the IPC, the prevailing judicial practice tends to exclude crimes from the realm of alternative punishments. Finally, to optimize this institution—in addition to the need for a change in the legislator's approach to expanding alternatives—judges can realize the legal mandate of decarceration in short-term imprisonments by utilizing capacities such as the