Legal Excuses Mitigating Intentional Crimes

Abstract

This study addresses the topic of legal excuses that mitigate penalties for intentional crimes, a critical issue in criminal law due to its close connection with justice and individualized sentencing. The research aims to analyze the doctrinal and legislative framework that governs mitigating excuses in Iraqi law, focusing on the conditions required for their application in intentional crimes such as homicide committed under provocation or honor-based motives. It further examines Iraqi judicial approaches to these excuses and evaluates their consistency with the spirit of the law, while drawing comparisons with corresponding trends in Egyptian and French legal systems. The study concludes that Iraqi legislation tends to narrowly define legal excuses, in contrast with the broader judicial discretion allowed in French law and the socially influenced interpretation in Egyptian law. The research recommends reconsidering the scope of legal excuses in Iraq and expanding them in line with contemporary social and human realities. It also calls for reinforcing judicial discretion within objective boundaries. This research contributes to bridging the gap between legal theory and practice and highlights the delicate balance between deterrence and compassion within criminal justice.