پژوهشکده حقوق و قانون ایران فصلنامه تحقیق و توسعه در حقوق تطبیقی 2981-1805 9 30 2026 05 22 Feasibility study on the correlation between the presence of schizophrenia and insanity as grounds for removal of criminal liability, With a comparative look at Iranian law and the perspectives of Western and Iranian psychologists A comparative study of schizophrenia as an example of insanity within the framework of Iranian criminal law: theories of Iranian and Western psycholog 387 412 727492 10.22034/law.2025.2056973.1633 FA Vahid Nekounam Associate Professor, Faculty of Theology and Law, Hazrat-e Masoumeh University, Qom, Iran 0000-0002-8483-172X Journal Article 2025 04 08 Feasibility study on the correlation between the presence of schizophrenia and insanity as grounds for removal of criminal liability, Comparative study in criminal law and medical science Abstract Objective: Schizophrenia is one of the most confusing and debilitating mental disorders in the world. Some researchers in international research centers have done a lot of research and participated for years, gathering information. In some cases, this disease has a perfect fit with the insanity concept, and there are different types of this mental disorder, and the amount of punishment for the criminals who have committed the crimes depending on the level of the disease, is different. The present study aims to investigate the responsibility of these people according to Iranian laws and in the light of psychological findings. Background: Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that can have different types. Many researchers and scientists have studied this disease for many years and have gathered a lot of information on this disease. In some cases, this disease has a good match with the concept of insanity. Methods: The research was concluded using an analytical-descriptive method, using library sources; furthermore, we collected documentation through documentary methods, using laws and reliable citizens. Findings: The legislator in the Islamic Penal Code has used the term ‘mental disorder’ in defining insanity, it has paved the way for a role for medical science in criminal law and has provided for cases of mental disorder as a complete defense, i.e., cases in which a defendant lacks free will, in the offense of insanity and lack of criminal responsibility. Results: Schizophrenia as a disease has different forms, and in some forms, such as catatonia, which is more significant, people lose their free will in most cases, and due to Article 149 of the Islamic Penal Code, they do not have criminal responsibility. Keywords: Schizophrenia, insanity, criminal responsibility, free will Abnormal behaviors may occasionally stem from deficiencies and inefficiencies in the psychological and neural structure of the brain, which can subsequently lead to mental disorders. Due to the inability to adapt and compromise with norms, values, and laws of the society, such a person may become a transgressor of both social norms and laws, violating security and peace, which are the most fundamental indicators for survival of the society and peaceful life. Schizophrenia is a mental illness characterized by significant alterations and distortions in the patient's thoughts, feelings, and perceptions, which ultimately lead to impairment in the individual's performance. This disease is one of the most confusing and debilitating mental disorders that deprives the patient's mind of making sense of the relationships and coherence between thoughts and emotions, filling it with distorted perceptions, false ideas, and illogical concepts. Some researchers in international research centers have done a lot of research and participated for years, gathering information. In some cases, this disease has a perfect fit with the insanity concept, and there are different types of this mental disorder, and the amount of punishment for the criminals who have committed the crimes depending on the level of the disease, is different. The present study aims to investigate the responsibility of these people according to Iranian laws and in the light of psychological findings. Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that can have different types. Many researchers and scientists have studied this disease for many years and have gathered a lot of information on this disease. In some cases, this disease fits well within the concept of insanity.This study was concluded using an analytical-descriptive method, using library sources; furthermore, we collected documentation through documentary methods, using laws and reliable citizens. The legislator in the Islamic Penal Code has used the term ‘mental disorder’ in defining insanity, it has paved the way for a role for medical sciences in criminal law and has provided for cases of mental disorder as a complete defense, i.e., cases in which a defendant lacks free will, due to defense of insanity and lack of criminal responsibility.Schizophrenia as a disease has different forms, and in some forms, such as catatonia, which is more significant, people lose their free will in most cases, and due to Article 149 of the Islamic Penal Code, they do not have criminal responsibility.

https://jcl.illrc.ac.ir/article_727492_12e3485780bf8cc92e8392ce1d961b43.pdf