The Unlawful Administrative Decision and Its Impact on the Establishment of Criminal Liability of the Public Official (An Analytical Comparative Study between Iraqi Law and French Law)

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Published: Jun 21, 2026
Keywords:
Unlawful Administrative Decision, Criminal Liability, Public Employee, Administrative Illegality, Functional Fault, Comparative Study

Main Article Content

Wissam Dries Fateen
Mustafa Shaker Hussein

Abstract

This research examines the legal implications of an unlawful administrative decision on the criminal liability of a public employee through a comparative analytical study between Iraqi law and French law. It proceeds from the premise that although the administrative decision is primarily regulatory and administrative in nature, its legal effects may extend beyond the traditional administrative sphere whenever unlawfulness takes a form that affects the criminal protection of public interest. The study analyzes the legal foundation of unlawful administrative decisions and identifies the forms of illegality capable of influencing the criminal status of the public employee. It further explores whether administrative unlawfulness alone is sufficient to establish criminal liability or whether such liability necessarily requires the independent fulfillment of the constituent elements of a criminal offense under criminal law. The research also addresses the legal relationship between administrative courts and criminal courts in assessing the legality of administrative decisions, including the evidentiary value of administrative judgments before criminal courts, while highlighting the impact of comparative judicial development on defining the boundary between administrative fault and criminal fault. The study concludes that the unlawfulness of an administrative decision does not automatically establish criminal liability; rather, such liability depends on the existence of an autonomous criminal structure in which both material and moral elements of the offense are established, with notable differences between Iraqi and French legal systems regarding the scope of such effect

Article Details

How to Cite
Dries Fateen و., & Shaker Hussein م. . (2026). The Unlawful Administrative Decision and Its Impact on the Establishment of Criminal Liability of the Public Official (An Analytical Comparative Study between Iraqi Law and French Law). MIsan Journal of Comparative Legal Studies, 15(1), 547–574. Retrieved from https://www.uomisan.edu.iq/law/mjcls/index.php/mjcls/article/view/557
Issue
Vol. 15 No. 1 (2026): Maysan Journal of Comparative Legal Studies
Section
Articles

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E.A.Makttoof , Kassim J.K , K.H (2020). Distribution of different forms of phosphorus in calcareous soils from middle and south of Iraq . Al-Qadisiyah Journal For Agriculture Sciences,10, 1, 2020, 293-303.

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ثالثًا: الأحكام القضائية

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رابعًا: المراجع الأجنبية

Chapus, René, Droit du contentieux administratif, Montchrestien, Paris, 2016.

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Fourth: Foreign References

Chapus, René, Droit du contentieux administratif, Montchrestien, Paris, 2016.

Cour de cassation, chambre criminelle, 14 October 2020.

Delmas-Marty, Mireille, Droit pénal des affaires publiques, Presses Universitaires de France, Paris, 2018.

Garraud, René, Traité de droit pénal français, Sirey, Paris, 2018.

Pradel, Jean, Droit pénal spécial, Cujas, Paris, 2020.

Rivero, Jean & Waline, Jean, Droit administratif, Dalloz, Paris, 21st ed., 2018.

Weil, Prosper, Droit administratif, Presses Universitaires de France (PUF), Paris, 2019.