Shahid Beheshti University Journal of Family Research 1735-8442 18 4 2023 02 20 A Study of the Competent Jurisdiction Regarding Claims Relating to the Legal Status of Iranian Religious Minorities A Study of the Competent Jurisdiction Regarding Claims Relating to the Legal Status of Iranian Religious Minorities 675 693 103175 10.48308/JFR.18.4.675 FA Saeed Haghani Assistant Professor, Private Law Department, Faculty of Law, Shahid Beheshti University 0000-0002-0166-4189 Journal Article 2022 07 13 The application of relevant religious rules to Iranian minority groups dates back to the early days of legislation in Iran. Nonetheless, in a recent step, the Iranian Parliament vested the ‘highest religious jurisdictions’ of minorities with judicial competence to be decided in cases of personal status. This paper studies different aspects of this unprecedented provision. Not only this innovative law would, at last analysis, contradict the Iranian Constitution, but also several issues of interpretive and practical character will arise. This paper provides Iranian courts with two guidelines on how to deal with the new provision. First, the new provision shall be interpreted in a way not to restrict the general competence of courts to hear cases of personal status of non-Shiite Period Secondly, courts are advised not to give effect to decisions rendered by religious authorities unless they meet, mutatis mutandis, rigorous conditions of recognition, and enforcement of foreign judgments. The application of relevant religious rules to Iranian minority groups dates back to the early days of legislation in Iran. Nonetheless, in a recent step, the Iranian Parliament vested the ‘highest religious jurisdictions’ of minorities with judicial competence to be decided in cases of personal status. This paper studies different aspects of this unprecedented provision. Not only this innovative law would, at last analysis, contradict the Iranian Constitution, but also several issues of interpretive and practical character will arise. This paper provides Iranian courts with two guidelines on how to deal with the new provision. First, the new provision shall be interpreted in a way not to restrict the general competence of courts to hear cases of personal status of non-Shiite Period Secondly, courts are advised not to give effect to decisions rendered by religious authorities unless they meet, mutatis mutandis, rigorous conditions of recognition, and enforcement of foreign judgments.

https://jfr.sbu.ac.ir/article_103175_019ab65308b822e61cbc22498d936a86.pdf