Human Rights Challenges in Implementing Qisas forAll Participants in Intentional Murder and Solutions

Abstract

 The permissibility of Qisas (retribution) for all participants in an intentional murder, from a theoretical perspective, has divided Shia jurists into two main groups. One group argues that the wali al-dam (guardian of the victim) is permitted to exact Qisas against all those involved in the act of murder, provided that any excess diya (blood money) corresponding to individual acts of killing is paid. In contrast, the other group maintains that the guardian may not carry out Qisas on more than one of the perpetrators. The implementation of Qisas against all participants in an intentional murder, however, gives rise to a number of challenges—chief among them being the potential violation of human dignity through the execution of all offenders, the intensification and normalization of violence, and the transformation of society into one driven by vengeance and retaliation. Accordingly, this research seeks to explore whether and how these challenges can be addressed. Through a review of legal and jurisprudential sources and employing a descriptive-analytical method, the study concludes that there are jurisprudential, legal, and ethical considerations that significantly impact the application of Qisas in such cases.