A Tentative Empirical Analysis of the Concept of Undetectable Mental Disorder and Its Challenges in Determining Criminal Responsibility in the Iranian Criminal Justice System

This article presents a critical empirical analysis of how undetected mental disorders question the evaluation of criminal responsibility under the Iranian criminal justice system. Drawing upon real court cases, forensic psychiatric opinions, and expert interviews, the study reveals systematic weaknesses in detection, interpretation, and legal integration of atypical mental disorders. The binary legal model does not accommodate the spectrum nature of psychiatric impairments, particularly those that are behaviorally hidden or diagnostically ambiguous. The research identifies key institutional and procedural obstacles, including a lack of forensic diagnostic tools, judicial unfamiliarity with modern psychiatric models, and the neglect of employing expert psychiatric opinion. It demands reforms such as the addition of a 'diminished responsibility' clause, standardization of forensic assessments, and increased interdisciplinary legal-psychiatric collaboration. The paper concludes that bridging the current gap between psychiatric science and legal doctrine is the panacea to ensure fairness, proportionality, and correctness in criminal adjudication among mentally impaired defendants.

کلیدواژه ها:

criminal responsibility ، undetectable mental disorder ، forensic psychiatry ، Iranian penal code ، diminished capacity