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|b Islamic criminal law as well as the whole Islamic legal system is not codified or enacted by normal legislative bodies in the form of written articles. However, the basic principles and legal rules are delineated and clarified by the following sources: The Holy Book (Qur’an), The Prophetic reports (Sunna),The consensus of opinion (Ijma’), The analogy (Quyass), Equity (Istihsan), Textually unspecified interest of the people (Maslaha Mursala), Avoidance of harm (Sadd al-Dharar), Compatibility of the means and the ends (Istishab). However , Islamic law does not set forth any detailed system of criminal procedure, and there is no mandate in any source of Islamic Law emphasizing the existence of an investigation and prosecution stages in the Islamic criminal justice system. The historical precedents do not indicate clearly that the stage of criminal investigation was acknowledged in solving criminal cases.Thus, methods of the criminal justice administration in Islamic Law are considered to be a matter of policy and not of Shari‘a. Consequently, the jurists “Ulama” and the legislative authorities of the Islamic countries are authorized to organize and maintain criminal procedural systems congruent with the particular circumstances of time and place, within the spirit of the general principles of Islam. The arrangements, mechanisms and administration of criminal justice system are purely political issues left to the discretion of the authorities. It is acceptable to divide legal jurisdiction into several offices or aggregate them in one. The only condition for one who is appointed to practice law is that he should be competent and should possess the legal qualifications prescribed by the Shari’ a Many Islamic countries have developed competent criminal justice systems consistent with many inevitable changes which have taken place in the field of crime prevention and criminal policies. Globalization of crime problem, concepts of the new world order, commitments to an international crime prevention, criminal justice programs (1) and growing cyber-crimes were of great impact on contemporary Islamic criminal justice system. This research is an attempt to examine Islamic criminal justice system, considering its capability in coping with changes and responding to the principles of human rights. The research may elaborate issues and elements of the Islamic criminal justice in the light of the contemporary criminal justice and the rules and guidelines adopted by the United Nations. Scholars in the western countries are of opinion that Islamic criminal justice system is rather punitive and does not respect the fundamental principles of the human rights. They are looking only to the penalties as stated in the Shari’a sources, without understanding the rules of Shari’a enforcement and rules of evidence. Muslim scholars have thoroughly explained rules and principles governing Islamic criminal justice. Innumerable textbooks, references and journals are available in the most famous libraries throughout the world; however, such references were not translated into popular languages, such as English, French or Chinese. Today, the international community is becoming more involved in administration of criminal justice and crime prevention at the national levels, due to the rapid growing of transnational criminality and its impact on human rights. Many efforts were made by the United Nations and other regional organizations to enhance administration of criminal justice, treatment of offenders and victim assistance programs. As members of the United Nations, Islamic countries are contributing in adopting criminal justice rules and crime prevention policies. The new emergence of Islamic legal system in many parts of the world and the escalation of transnational crime problems necessitate integration and reconciliation among various criminal justice systems prevailing in the world. This research is intended to bridge the gap between basic principles of Islamic criminal justice operations, procedures and rules of evidence on one hand and basic rules and methods of the modern criminal justice system operations and procedure known in western countries on the other hand. Observing Islamic rules of criminal justice system and maintaining its fundamental identity in the context of globalization may enhance realization of justice administration and rule of law. With due respect to the various l views of Muslim jurists this paper, relying on the opinion of the majority (Rai al-jamhour), aims to identify. 1. Contemporary criminal justice system and Islamic criminal justice system. 2. Components of the criminal justice system and their functions and procedures. 3. Police role and powers in the criminal justice. 4. Rules of evidence in the Islamic Criminal Law. 5. Admissibility of scientific evidence before Islamic criminal law courts. 6. The role and powers of judges in Islamic Law Perspective.
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