Judicial Legislation: Examining the Relationship between the Iranian Legal System and the School of Legal Realism

Document Type : Academicm and Research

Authors

1 Associate Professor, Department of Public Law, Faculty of Law, University of Qom.

2 PhD Student in Public Law, Department of Public Law, Faculty of Law, University of Qom.

10.22091/csiw.2023.8449.2304

Abstract

Previous legal provisions cannot predict and regulate all possible future situations, and laws are composed of words that are open-textured, meaning that they are always susceptible to different interpretations. This has made the role of judges crucial in determining the content of legal rules. How is this role assessed in the fabrics of the Iranian legal system? Furthermore, what is the position of judges in lawmaking or, more precisely, what is their role in judicial legislation, and how does this position relate to the principles of public law and considerations related to the separation of powers? This descriptive-analytical research attempts to examine the conceptual framework of judicial legislation in light of the theory of "legal realism" and analyze the legitimate boundaries of judges' discretion in the production of legal rules from the perspective of public law. This analysis requires, on the one hand, the clarification of the relationship between jurisprudence and adjudication and legislation, and on the other hand, the evaluation of the relationship between the Iranian legal system and one of the modern schools of legal philosophy, namely the school of "legal realism." According to the research findings, historically, the "Mujtahid Judge" has been the authority for declaring and applying legal rules, which creates similarities between the role of judges in legal theory and the role of judges in the school of "legal realism," although currently the substitution of individual ijtihad by the will of representatives in the legislative branch has introduced a new formulation in the fundamental principles of the legal system.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Alschuler, A. (1997). The Descending Trail: Holmes' Path of the Law One Hundred Years Later. Florida Law Review, 49, 353.
Altman, A. (1996). Arguing about Law: An Introduction to Legal Philosophy. Wadsworth Publishing Company.
Bix, B. (1996). Jurisprudence: Theory and Context. Sweet and Maxwell.
Cardozo, B. N. (1946). The Nature of the Judicial Process. London: Geoffrey Cumberlege Oxford University Press.
D'Amato, A. (2010). Judicial Legislation. Northwestern University School of Law, Faculty Working Papers. Paper 107.
Dworkin, R. (1977). Taking Rights Seriously. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
Flores, I. B. (2005). The Quest for Legisprudence: Constitutionalism V. Legalism. In L. J. Wintgens (Ed.), The Theory and Practice of Legislation: Essays in Legisprudence (pp. 26-52). Oxford: Hart Publishing.
Golding, M. P. (2007). Legal Reasoning, Legal Theory and Rights. Routledge.
Hallaq, W. B. (1994). From Fatwās to Furūʿ: Growth and Change in Islamic Substantive Law. Islamic Law and Society, 1(1), 29–65.
Hedrick, T. (2010). Coping with Constitutional Indeterminacy: Jhon Rawls & Jurgen Habermas. Sage Publication Com.
Leiter, B. (2005). American Legal Realism. In W. Edmundson & M. Golding (Eds.), A Companion to Philosophy of Law and Legal Theory (2nd ed., pp. 50-67). Blackwell.
Leiter, B. (2010). American Legal Realism. In D. Patterson (Ed.), The Blackwell Guide to Philosophy of Law and Legal Theory (pp. 249-266). Wiley-Blackwell.
Leiter, B. (2015). Legal Realism and Legal Doctrine. University of Pennsylvania Law Review, 163(7), 1975–1984.
Paul, J. (1959). Psychological Materials in the Legal Philosophy of Jerome Frank. South Carolina Law Review, 11(3), Article 1.
Sheibani, A., & Dabirnia, A. (2021). Investigation of Freedom Stemma in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran: A Genealogy Viewpoint. International Journal for the Semiotics of Law, 36, 717-730. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11196-021-09871-5
Wacks, R. (2006). Very Short Introductions. Oxford University Press.
Waldron, J. (2005). Legislation. In W. Edmundson & M. Golding (Eds.), The Blackwell Guide to Philosophy of Law and Legal Theory (pp. 236-247). Blackwell.
Waldron, J. (2009). Representative Lawmaking. Boston University Law Review, 89, 334-354.
 
Persian Sources
Abdali, M. (2021). An Introduction to the Philosophy of Law and Legal Theories (Vol. 2). Tehran: Majd Publication.
Al-Sharif, M. (2018). Logic of Law (Vol. 4). Tehran: Sahami Enteshar Publishing.
Amid Zanjani, A. A. (2006). Iran's Constitutional Law (Vol. 1). Tehran: Tehran University Press.
Ansari, B. (2008). The Role of the Judge in the Transformation of the Legal System. Tehran: Mizan Publishing.
Asadian, A. (2016). The Transformations of Separation of Powers (Vol. 3). Tehran: Majd Publication.
Cheraghi, V. (2019). Philosophy of Judgment: The Role of the Judge in Creating Legal Rules. Tehran: Majd Publication.
Deylami, A. (2003). Interpretation of Laws with Emphasis on Constitutional and Civil Laws (Vol. 1). Qom: Qom University Press.
Emami, M., & Mousavi, S. N. (2019). An Introduction to the Foundations of Constitutional Law and the Political System (Vol. 2). Tehran: Mizan Publishing.
Ghanai, P. (2019). Islamic Legislation (Vol. 2). Qom: Tamaddon-e-Novin Publication.
Haqparast, S., Kavyani, K., & Kohvand, H. (2016). The Ethical Purpose of Legal Rules: A Comparative Approach to Western Legal Theory and Islamic Law. Comparative Research on Islamic and Western Law, 3(4).
Hart, H. (2011). The Concept of Law (M. Rasekh, Trans.) (Vol. 1). Tehran: Ney Publishing.
Hashemi, S. M. (2011). Constitutional Law and Political Structures (Vol. 1). Tehran: Mizan Publishing.
Jafari Tabar, H. (2021). A Beast in the Glass (Vol. 2). Tehran: Negah-e-Moaser Publication.
Katouzian, N. (2004). Foundations of Public Law (Vol. 2). Tehran: Mizan Publishing.
Kelei, J. (2002). A Brief History of Legal Theory in the West (M. Rasekh, Trans.). Tehran: Ney Publishing.
Kelsen, H. (2012). Pure Theory of Law: An Introduction to Legal Theory (E. Namatollahi, Trans.) (Vol. 2). Qom: Research Institute of the Qom Seminary and University.
Keyvanfar, S. (2011). Philosophical Foundations of Legal Interpretation. Tehran: Sahami Enteshar Co. Publishing.
Malmiri Markaz, A. (2006). Rule of Law (Vol. 1). Tehran: Markaz-e-Pajoohesh-haye Majlis Publishing.
Mehraram, P. (2015). An Introduction to Judicial Interpretation in Public Law (Research Report). Tehran: The Judiciary Press and Publishing Center.
Morawetz, T. (2012). Philosophy of Law: Foundations and Functions (B. Jandaghi, Trans.)
(Vol. 2). Qom: Research Institute of the Qom Seminary and University.
Qazi Shari’at Panahi, S. A. (2004). Constitutional Law and Political Institutions (Vol. 11). Tehran: Mizan Publishing.
Qazi Shari’at Panahi, S. A. (2013). Foundations of Constitutional Law (Vol. 47). Tehran: Mizan Publishing.
Rasekh, M. (2002). Right and Interest: Essays in the Philosophy of Law (Vol. 1). Tehran: Tarhe Now.
Rasekh, M. (2005). The Theoretical Foundations of Legislative Reform (Vol. 1). Tehran: Markaz-e-Pajoohesh-haye Majlis Publishing.
Rasekh, M. (2013). Right and Interest (Vol. 1, Vol. 2). Tehran: Ney Publishing.
Vakilian, H. (2013). The Relationship between Judicial Procedure and Law. Tehran: The Judiciary Press and Publishing Center.
Yavari, A., Moradi Berlian, M., & Mehraram, P. (2017). Principles and Criteria of Judicial Interpretation in Public Law. Tehran: The Judiciary Press and Publishing Center.
 
Send comment about this article
CAPTCHA Image

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics