The Islamization of law in Iran: A time of disenchantment

Middle East Report

Volumn , Issue 212, 1999, Pages 17-21

  Niknam, Azadeh ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ISLAMISM; LEGAL SYSTEM; RELIGION;

IRAN;

EID: 0033378912     PISSN: 08992851     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.2307/3012908     Document Type: Article

References (29)

1. Iranian laws had been modified after the Constitutional Revolution in 1906 and the advent of the Pahlavi Dynasty. Inspired by European law - notably Belgian, Swiss and French - the penal code and the penal procedure code had been entirely overhauled. The civil code, on the other hand, had remained largely faithful to shari'a, except for its mode of classification and stance toward family rights.
2. A faqih is a jurisconsult in Muslim law and a doctor in religion.
3. The fourth Principle of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran states the following: "All laws and regulations, whether civil, penal, financial, economic, administrative, cultural, military, political or otherwise, must be based on Islamic precepts. This pristine principle governs all principles of the Constitution, as well as other laws and regulations. The faqihs comprising the Surveillance Council are tasked with the application of this underlying principle."
4. Azadeh Niknam, "Les revers de l'islamisation du droit en Iran* [Setbacks in Islamization of Law in Iran], Les Cahiers de l'Orient 49 (Spring 1998), pp. 53-70.
5. Mohammad Hâshemi, Negareshi bar Qânun-e Jadid-e Kâr-e Jomhuri-e Eslâmi-e Iran [An Examination of the New Labor Laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran] (Tehran: Enteshâfât-e Dâneshkadeh-ye Hoquq-e Dâneshgâh-e Shahid Beheshti [The Law Faculty, Shahid Beheshti University Press], 1991).
6. Shi'i pênal law is divided into four branches. First are the hodud laws, which concern crimes of a sexual nature, certain acts of theft, false accusation of adultery, the consumption of alcohol, apostasy, rebellion against the Islamic State, and banditry. Next come the qesâs laws (lex talionis) and then the diyât laws, which apply to homicide and voluntary and involuntary assault and battery. Finally, there are the ta'zirât laws, which include all those criminal deeds not mentioned in the previous three branches of law or which, if declared, are considered relatively minor; the punishment for such offenses is not defined. Initially and for a number of centuries, misdeeds coming under the ta'zirât laws were few in number. However, given the "catch-all" nature of this branch of Shi'i penal laws - which by definition includes all the crimes not classified under the other three branches - it has continuously widened as social changes have given rise to new forms of criminal actions. Consequently, the ta'zirât have now become the largest branch of the Islamic penal code.
7. Hossein Mehrpur (ed.), Majmu'eh-ye Nazariyât-e Showrâ-ye Negahbân [Compendium of the Decisions of the Surveillance Council] (Tehran: Keyhân Press, 1992), vol. 1, p. 417.
8. Azadeh Niknam, "L'islamisation du droit pénal à l'épreuve des réalités en Iran" [The Islamization of Penal Laws vs. the Realities of Life in Iran], Revue des Mondes Musulmans et de la Méditerranée (REMMM) 85-86 (1999), pp. 47-62.
9. Ayatollah Azari Qomi, "Nazari bar Feqh-e Sonnati" [A Glance at Traditional Shari ̀a] Resâlat 494, September 23, 1987.
10. Ayatollah Musavi Ardebili, "Feqh va Moqtaziyât-e Zamân, Ejtehâd dar Bastar-e Târikh va Ejtehâd-e Mamnu"' [Shari'a and the Demands of the Times, Ijtihad throughout History and Forbidden Ijtihad], Keyhân, June 3, 1987, pp. 17-18, and June 4, 1987, pp. 17-18.
11. Noël Coulson, A History of Islamic Law (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1964).
12. Ayatollah Ruhollâh Khomeini, Velâyat-e Faqih, Hokumat-e Eslâmi [Jurisconsult Guardianship, Islamic State] (Tehran: Amir Kabir Press, 1979).
13. Shi'i faqihs forbid the destruction of mosques as well as compulsory purchase orders and the purchase of a property against the owner's wishes.
14. Ayatollah Ruhollâh Khomeini, Sahifeh-ye Nur (Tehran: Ministry of Culture and Islamic Orientation Press), vol. 20, p. 170.
15. Noël Coulson, op. cit.
16. Mohsen Kadivar, Nazariyehhâ-ye Dowlat dar Feqh-e Shi'eh [Theories of Government in Shi'i Shari'a] (Tehran: Nashr-e Ney Press, 1997).
17. Hossein Mehrpur, "Sargozasht-e Ta'zirât," Majaleh-ye Kânun-e Vokalâ [The Lawyers Association Review], 148-149 (1989) pp. 62-63.
18. Keyhân, January 1, 1989, p. 2.
19. The following are the three exceptions: 1) cases where the judge realizes that his verdict goes against shari'a laws or precepts; 2) cases where another judge discovers that the first one has committed an error in view of shari'a laws or precepts and the latter admits his error; and 3) cases where the judge is incompetent.
20. The law specifying the possibilities of an appeal for review (October 1988), the law pertaining to the constitution of repressive courts (June 1989), the law pertaining to the review of verdicts (August 1993), the law pertaining to the constitution of both general and Revolutionary courts (July 1994).
21. Hossein Mehrpur, "Tahavvolât-e Qânungozâri dar Amr-e Tajdid-e Nazar" [Evolution in Legislation in Matters of Appeal], Majaleh-ye Qazâyi va Hoquqi-e Dâdgostari [The Law Court's Judicial and Judiciary Review] 12 (Fall 1994), pp. 55-56.
22. Hossein Mehrpur (ed.), Majmu'eh-ye Nazarîyat-e Showrâ-ye Negahbân [Compendium of the Decisions of the Surveillance Council] (Tehran: Keyhân Press, 1992), vol. 3, p. 184.
23. See, among others, the remarks by Mohammad Mojtahed Shabestari and Abdolkarim Sorush in Kiyân 45 (February-March 1999), a special issue on "Religion, Tolerance and Violence."
24. Payâm-e Hâjar [Hajar's Message], 230 (October-November 1997); Zanân [Women], 37 (September-October 1997); ibid, 38 (November 1997); ibid., 39 (December 1997); ibid, 40 (January-February 1998).
25. Payâm-e Hâjar [Hajar's Message], 230 (October-November 1997); Zanân [Women], 37 (September-October 1997); ibid, 38 (November 1997); ibid., 39 (December 1997); ibid, 40 (January-February 1998).
26. Payâm-e Hâjar [Hajar's Message], 230 (October-November 1997); Zanân [Women], 37 (September-October 1997); ibid, 38 (November 1997); ibid., 39 (December 1997); ibid, 40 (January-February 1998).
27. Payâm-e Hâjar [Hajar's Message], 230 (October-November 1997); Zanân [Women], 37 (September-October 1997); ibid, 38 (November 1997); ibid., 39 (December 1997); ibid, 40 (January-February 1998).
28. Payâm-e Hâjar [Hajar's Message], 230 (October-November 1997); Zanân [Women], 37 (September-October 1997); ibid, 38 (November 1997); ibid., 39 (December 1997); ibid, 40 (January-February 1998).
29. Hamid Ayati, "Eslâh-e Qànun-e Dâdgâhhâ-ye 'Am, Bâzgasht beh Avval-e Khat" [Reform of the Law of General Courts: Back to Square One], Hoquq va Ejtemâ'[Law and Society], special issue, August 1998, p. 5.