Interdisciplinary Studies in Society, Law, and Politics

This article examines the challenges and interferences facing the independence of the legal profession in Iran and presents solutions to strengthen it through a comparative approach to the French legal system and international mechanisms. The results of this research, which has been conducted using an analytical-descriptive method and document-based data collection, show that the independence of the legal profession, as a fundamental element in ensuring fair trial, faces numerous obstacles in Iran in both legislative and non-legislative areas. Ambiguities and contradictions in related laws, interference of state institutions in managing the Bar Association, lack of clear criteria for entry into the profession, sudden managerial decisions, improper interaction between the judiciary and lawyers, professional discrimination, and lack of job security are among these challenges. In contrast, the French legal system offers an efficient model by emphasizing the self-management of the Bar Association, the independence of the lawyer in defense, and strong protective laws. From a global perspective, international organizations such as the United Nations and international bar associations play an important role in overseeing and supporting the independence of lawyers worldwide. Adhering to their regulations and increasing interaction with them could be a significant step in this regard. Therefore, solutions such as: reforming laws and regulations, strengthening the independence of the Bar Association, ensuring job security for lawyers, improving interaction between the judiciary and lawyers, raising public awareness, and utilizing international experiences to improve the legal profession in Iran, will ensure the reduction of inconsistent interferences.

In 2020, the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade of Iran introduced a mechanism known as "Build-Operate-Transfer" (BOT) for the delegation of mining projects to the private sector. This system grants specific privileges to contractors, expecting them to commit to the development of ancillary industries. The present study investigates the operational and administrative challenges of this model and proposes solutions to improve its performance. The identified challenges include the lack of defined contract forms, insufficient economic criteria for determining the duration of exploitation, and operational obstacles arising from unprofessional opinions and limitations imposed by related institutions. For comparison, in the French legal system, since 2006, mining projects have been privatized using the BOT method. This approach has allowed for a reduction in economic interventions and the attraction of foreign investments, with the Ministry of Economy assuming responsibility for the pricing and duration of exploitation. In the Canadian legal system, similar projects have been delegated using the BOT method since 2010, with the distinction that the government has retained a monopoly on the purchase of mineral products and permits only sales to selected state-owned companies. The findings of this research suggest that for the successful and effective implementation of this model in Iran, it is essential for the Cabinet to support the powers of the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade. Additionally, leveraging the experiences of France and Canada could assist the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade in contract formulation and in reducing operational barriers.

Administrative corruption is one of the most significant factors contributing to the backwardness of societies, which can be observed, to some extent, even in advanced societies, causing irreparable damages. The current study, which analyzes and examines the relationship between the cultural contexts and values of Faryab Province and administrative corruption, evaluates the role and degree of influence of three theoretical variables as independent variables on the dependent variable, namely the tendency to engage in administrative corruption. According to the results obtained from the statistical data of the study, a significant correlation exists between the dependent variable and all three variables: the nature of societal values (traditional culture), the dominance of economic values over social values, and the reduction of opportunities to achieve goals.

Whistleblowing, a modern phenomenon, is considered a significant measure for exposing governmental crimes. In Iran's legislative framework, whistleblowing faces legal challenges and requirements that are explored in this study. The primary research question addresses the challenges of whistleblowing in Iran's criminal justice system and examines to what extent these challenges can contribute to the detection and prevention of governmental crimes. The objective is to elucidate the obstacles to whistleblowing and its impact on identifying and preventing such crimes. The present study employs a qualitative approach, adopting a descriptive-analytical methodology. Data were collected through detailed document analysis and thoroughly examined. Whistleblowing fundamentally refers to the exposure of crimes in a positive sense, aimed at uncovering and preventing the violation of majority rights by the ruling minority within society. Governmental crimes often occur covertly, and without whistleblowing, they remain undiscovered and concealed. The challenges of whistleblowing include ensuring protection for whistleblowers, preventing baseless whistleblowing and the resulting increase in defamation cases in judicial systems, strengthening immunity for whistleblowers, supporting whistleblowing through press laws, and legally preventing governmental crimes via whistleblowing. Essential strategies and requirements for utilizing whistleblowing to detect and prevent governmental crimes include promoting transparency in government operations, enhancing civil society and non-governmental organization participation and oversight, leveraging Islamic principles (e.g., enjoining good and forbidding evil), ensuring the right to free access to and dissemination of information through media, using constitutional capacities, adopting legislative policies, and uncovering organized governmental crimes in complex security layers.

Administrative corruption encompasses a range of factors and behaviors arising from individuals’ activities or bureaucratic rules, which, in practice, lead to public dissatisfaction, injustice, oppression of individuals, negligence, and lack of respect for service recipients. The General Inspection Organization (GIO) is tasked not only with overseeing the precise implementation of laws within the administrative apparatus of the country but also with identifying weaknesses in the enforcement of laws within the execution system and communicating these to authorities and officials to propose the best solutions. Furthermore, this organization must present appropriate solutions for addressing violations to executive organizations and institutions by leveraging cultural, social, economic, political, administrative, managerial, legal, and judicial factors. The research methodology employed in this study is descriptive-analytical. The objective of this paper is to highlight the gaps in the legal framework of the General Inspection Organization concerning corruption prevention. The findings indicate that, given Article 174 of the Constitution and the existing provisions in the Law on the Establishment of the General Inspection Organization, the subject of corruption prevention is highly ambiguous and superficial. Based on the consequences of corruption in various sectors, it is plausible to anticipate the formulation of a legal provision for combating corruption within the framework of the Law on the Establishment of the General Inspection Organization.

In the history of Shia jurisprudence, the Akhbari school and its ideology emerged before the Usuli school and the Sheikhism school. Throughout the history of jurisprudence, it experienced ups and downs as a result of its confrontation with the Mujtahids and Usulis. When the Sheikhism school emerged alongside the dominance and superiority of the Usuli school over the Akhbari school, the Usulis had the same confrontational stance with the scholars of Sheikhism, particularly due to the specific theological views of Sheikh Ahmad Ahsa'i in certain Shiite doctrinal principles. The method of jurisprudence in the Sheikhism and Akhbari schools is similar in many respects but also differs in some aspects. Sheikhism shares some similarities with the Usuli school but also has significant differences, and it should, in fact, be regarded as an intermediary school between the Usuli and Akhbari schools. This classification is due to a crucial element called "the wisdom of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them)," which has both philosophical and theological dimensions. This concept plays a significant role in the Sheikhism school’s jurisprudential principles and serves as the main distinction between the Sheikhism school and both the Akhbari and Usuli schools. This research follows a descriptive-analytical method, with the main focus on the views of scholars from the Karim Khaniyyah Kerman branch, which is considered the most important and famous branch of Sheikhism.

The present study examines the realization and termination of arbitration and the extent of judicial oversight in the enforcement and annulment of arbitral awards in Iranian law. The main objective of this research is to conduct a comparative analysis of Iran’s legal system in the field of arbitration and to propose strategies for improving and enhancing existing mechanisms. The research adopts a theoretical approach, utilizing reasoning and rational analysis methods based on library studies. The prerequisites for the realization of arbitration include the mutual consent and agreement of the parties, the legal capacity to litigate, the arbitrability of the subject matter, the absence of legal prohibitions, and adherence to relative restrictions concerning the arbitrator. Failure to observe any of these prerequisites can lead to the termination of arbitration. Another segment of this study is dedicated to judicial oversight over arbitration. The scope and nature of court supervision regarding the arbitration process and the enforcement of arbitral awards in two jurisdictions are analyzed, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of each. The alignment of arbitral awards with public order principles, universally accepted as fundamental, necessitates a degree of judicial oversight. Despite the necessity of such oversight, considering the contractual nature of arbitration, judicial intervention must adhere to a specific framework and limitations to avoid conflicting with the parties' intention to refer disputes to a private forum and to exclude judicial authorities from the process. Judicial control is also exercised during the enforcement of arbitral awards. In practice, courts verify the arbitrator’s jurisdiction, the definition of the subject matter, the examination of the arbitral award, its alignment with the arbitration subject, and whether it has been issued within the prescribed timeframe and the arbitrator’s authority, before ordering its enforcement. Finally, the findings of this study indicate that Iran's legal system faces similar challenges in the field of arbitration and can benefit from the experiences of other jurisdictions to achieve efficiency and justice in the arbitration process.

One of the social challenges facing contemporary Iranian society is the issue of unconventional dowries, which, due to their increasing trend, have turned into a significant social and familial problem. This issue has led to a range of crimes, including familial disputes, divorce, imprisonment, and judicial convictions. Accordingly, the present study investigates optimal family governance in terms of conventional dowries and their role in crime prevention, given the substantial connection between dowries and the family system. The research question addresses the role of conventional dowries in achieving optimal family governance and preventing crimes. This study employs a descriptive-analytical method using library-based tools. The findings of this study indicate that optimal family governance in relation to conventional dowries is not a unilateral matter isolated from various individual, social, and political factors. Therefore, achieving an optimal governance model to prevent unconventional dowries and to promote conventional dowries requires the active participation of the government, civil society organizations, non-governmental institutions, and the public (through cultural reform) in addressing dowry practices. The government's role, based on the principle of expediency and the jurisdiction of the ruler in an Islamic society, is crucial for changing the trend of promoting unconventional dowries. The public's role is vital for reforming cultural practices such as rivalry and imitation, while non-governmental organizations play an essential role in critiquing laws and identifying the impacts of unconventional and excessive dowries. Thus, preventing crimes resulting from excessive dowries necessitates an interactive approach involving the three entities: government, the public, and non-governmental organizations. The government must amend laws based on societal norms, the public must reform cultural practices, and non-governmental organizations must oversee the enforcement and reform of these laws. Together, these elements form the structure of an optimal model for conventional dowries in an Islamic society, grounded in Islamic jurisprudence.