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Jurisdictional Challenges in Addressing Medical Crimes Caused by Artificial Intelligence and Surgical Robots in the Iranian Legal System, with a Look at the Legal Systems of the European Union and the United States
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Mahmoud Abbasi    , Reza Abedi *1 |
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Abstract: (20 Views) |
Background and Aim: The expansion of the use of artificial intelligence and surgical robots in the Iranian health system has created a new form of medical errors, the nature of which is different from traditional human errors. These technologies, with independent decision making or decision making, have raised fundamental questions about criminal liability, causality, type of fault and most importantly, the competent authority to handle technology based medical crimes. The purpose of this research is to analyze the jurisdictional challenges and discover the legal gaps in handling medical crimes caused by smart technologies in Iranian criminal law.
Methods: This research was conducted using a descriptive analytical method and a documentary approach.
Ethical Considerations: This research was conducted in compliance with ethical principles, honesty and trustworthiness in citing sources.
Results: The results show that in Iranian criminal law there is no clear distinction between human error of a physician and technology based error caused by an artificial intelligence system or surgical robot. The jurisdiction of the Medical Crimes Court, the Computer Crimes Court and the disciplinary boards sometimes overlap, leading to successive incompetence orders, delays in proceedings and the inability to determine precise liability. Also, the lack of legal criteria for recognizing algorithmic fault, the weakness in identifying the causal relationship between robot performance and patient harm and the lack of specific regulations for individuals such as software companies, algorithm creators, maintenance engineers and technical operators are among the important gaps identified.
Conclusion: The present study states that the current Iranian criminal law framework is not sufficient to address medical crimes resulting from smart technologies and the country's judicial system requires fundamental reforms. The most important proposals include creating a specialized authority to handle technology based medical crimes, developing special regulations for technologybased fault, amending the medical system regulations to determine the limits of liability of technology operators, software companies and robot manufacturers and designing technical guidelines for the valuation of digital evidence in medical records. Without reforming this structure, the expansion of the use of artificial intelligence will increase conflicts of jurisdiction, confusion of judicial authorities and violation of the rights of patients and doctors. |
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| Keywords: Medical Artificial Intelligence, Surgical Robots, Criminal Liability, Jurisdiction, Medical Crimes |
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Full-Text [PDF 845 kb]
(6 Downloads)
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Type of Study: Original Article |
Received: 2026/02/17 | Accepted: 2026/04/10 | Published: 2026/07/23
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