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Supreme Court of Iran: General Administration of Uniformity of Judicial Decisions and Publication of Deliberations and Opinions of the General Board (Opinion Number 835)
(Translation by Seyed Bahman Khodadadi)
Islamic Republic of Iran
Judiciary
Supreme Court of the Country
General Administration of Uniformity of Judicial Decisions and Publication of Deliberations and Opinions of the General Board
Subject: Decision of the Unity of Procedure of the General Board of the Supreme Court
Opinion Number: 835
With the enactment of the Islamic Penal Law (1375) and the subsequent dissolution of public and revolutionary courts from [Iran's] judicial system, the responsibility for conducting preliminary investigations was assigned to the courts. Consequently, the reference to the "Prosecutor's Office" in Article 650 of the aforementioned law concerning perjury has become obsolete.
Following the re-establishment of the Prosecutor's Offices, Article 322 of the Criminal Procedure Law, approved in 1392, along with Article 209 of the same law, explicitly addresses the punishment for perjury, establishing a legal obligation for investigators regarding witness testimony. This provision emphasizes the necessity of enforcing penalties for violations committed by witnesses, thereby underscoring the duty of investigators to interpret the law with the intent of uncovering the legislative purpose.
Accordingly, the punishment prescribed for perjury occurring during the preliminary investigation phase, prior to the involvement of the Prosecutor's Office, remains subject to Article 650 of the Islamic Penal Code (Penalties). Therefore, the decision rendered by the 13th Branch of the Alborz Court of Appeal, which aligns with this opinion, is recognized as correct and lawful by the majority of votes. This decision is binding for the branches of the Supreme Court, as well as all other judicial and non-judicial authorities, pursuant to Article 471 of the Criminal Procedure Law, approved in 1392, along with subsequent amendments and additions in similar cases.
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Niẓām al-Aḥwāl al-Shakhṣiyya [Personal Status Law]
By Muhammad Zubair Abbasi
The Personal Status Law of 2022 (PSL) forms part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 reform agenda.[1] The PSL codifies legal rules governing family relations, including marriage, divorce, child custody, maintenance, gifts, wills, and inheritance. While drawing extensively on principles derived from classical fiqh, the PSL introduces substantive reforms by codifying, clarifying, and standardizing rules that were previously applied through judicial discretion.
The law sets the minimum age of marriage at eighteen, while permitting courts to authorize the marriage of individuals under eighteen where they are deemed sufficiently mature to provide consent.[2] It further enhances women’s autonomy in marriage by limiting the traditional authority of the guardian: a judge may intervene to permit a woman to marry a man of her choice where the guardian’s objection is deemed unreasonable.[3] The PSL strengthens women’s rights within marriage by invalidating the practice of instant divorce (triple ṭalāq)[4] and broadening women’s access to no-fault dissolution through a judicially supervised reconciliation process.[5] It also reinforces married women’s financial rights by requiring husbands to provide maintenance irrespective of the wife’s financial standing.[6] In addition, the financial burden associated with wife-initiated no-fault divorce (khulʿ) is curtailed by limiting the compensation payable to the husband to prompt dower.[7]
Notes:
[1] “Vision 2030,” Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, accessed March 16, 2026, https://www.vision2030.gov.sa/media/cofh1nmf/vision-2030-overview.pdf.
[2] Personal Status Law of 2022 [PSL] art. 9 (Saudi Arabia).
[3] PSL art. 20.
[4] PSL art. 83.
[5] PSL arts. 109–11.
[6] PSL art. 44.
[7] PSL art. 101. Dower under Islamic law is divided into two types. Prompt dower is a sum of money or property that a husband is obliged to pay his wife immediately upon marriage. Deferred dower, by contrast, falls due only upon dissolution of the marriage, whether by divorce or the husband’s death.
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