Legal Foundations of Exercising a Right with the Intent to Harm Others

Abstract

Since it appears that each individual can freely exercise their right in any form they choose—even if this leads to harm to another—and since one may accept another's apparent intention as genuine without investigating their true motives, which may in fact be flawed and result in injury to others, the objective of this study is, first, to identify the harms arising from exercising a right with the intent to cause damage to others, and to explore its dimensions and criteria within Imamiyyah jurisprudence and legal frameworks, based on the documentation of the la-zarar (no harm) rule and the views of jurists and legal scholars. Second, it aims to delineate the scope of exercising rights, legal theories, and the resolution of disputes. The use of specific cases also assists in better analyzing the subject and identifying the standards for exercising rights with the intent to cause harm. This research, which is a scientific study, investigates a novel topic and considers Article 40 of the Constitution. The study attempts to determine the criteria for exercising a right with harmful intent. These criteria include social purpose, significant harm, wrongful conduct, conflict, lack of legitimate benefit, preference of interests, and fault—each of which, if left unchecked, can lead to dispute. What is central to all these criteria is the issue of intent to harm. One of the findings of this study is that the la-zarar rule has a scope as vast as the domain of rights themselves. It can encompass any exercise of privilege, priority, or preference as instances of intent to harm. Consequently, given that this issue is not explicitly addressed in existing legislation, and that in doctrinal discussions the concept of intent is rarely defined by jurists—who tend instead to focus on the consequences of its absence—it is possible, through an examination of cases involving the exercise of rights with harmful intent, to derive the criteria for such actions. This can ultimately guide society toward justice and rightful conduct.