The Major Terrifying Legal Gap and the Exploitation by Banks, Institutions, Private Companies, and Semi-State-Owned Enterprises of Mandatory Judicial Orders

In cases where courts of justice, civil enforcement offices, and other similar bodies issue enforcement orders or binding judicial instructions against companies, and generally against legal entities, sometimes even private or semi-state entities, particularly large enterprises, the only legal basis for non-compliance and refusal to adhere to judicial orders is Article 576 of the Islamic Penal Code (Ta'zirat).

Regardless of the fact that, when the parliament approved the Islamic Penal Code in 2013, it forgot to attach the current Book Five (Ta'zirat) to Article 728 and update the numbering of the legal articles.

As a result, we are now faced with two nearly identical articles under the Islamic Penal Code, which only prescribe temporary dismissal from duty for government officials, employees, and municipal officers who fail to comply with judicial orders.

Although Article 496 of the Criminal Procedure Code provides the enforcement judge with limited discretionary power for applying judicial authority, this power is limited strictly to the criminal enforcement judge and no one else.

Moreover, the scope of the law applies to all judiciary officers, law enforcement and military forces, officials and employees of ministries, state institutions, public non-governmental organizations, and organizations or entities that are explicitly named under the law. However, no extension of this law is observed for powerful rebellious private individuals or semi-state legal entities.

The result is that:

Despite the lengthy judicial process and the significant time and effort spent by plaintiffs and those seeking justice, if judicial rulings are not enforced by powerful private or semi-state entities (of which numerous examples have been submitted to Abdi Media), there is no legal guarantee for judicial action against these defiant non-compliers.

Although it is heard that the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Department of the Judiciary is trying to correct this significant legislative gap in the new Ta'zirat bill, the potential approval will take years.

Parliament members, especially the Judicial and Legal Committee, with the guidance of the Judiciary, could rectify this major gap through an immediate amendment to Article 576 of the Islamic Penal Code (Ta'zirat) and prevent the defiance of judicial orders by non-compliers through a legislative proposal.

Will this issue be considered a pressing matter for them? Or do they benefit from the current situation?