ABSTRACT
Victims and witnesses form two essential yet easily overlooked and vulnerable communities within the criminal law apparatus of any legal system throughout the world. From those countries who are most developed to those that are beginning the process of development and the concomitant assumption of international law responsibilities, victims and witnesses exist in parallel of recognition and a lack of protection. This trend rings true in the Islamic Republic of Iran (Iran), where statutory law and religious law exist together to form the core legal structures within which victims and witnesses exist and must seek protection and validation.
