Comparative Law in Court: A Study of Judicial Transplants in Private Law

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 PhD Candidate/ Private Law/ University of Tehran

2 Associate Professor, Faculty of Law and Political Science, University of Tehran

10.52547/lawresearch.23.89.137

Abstract

In the world today, benefits of comparative law are not limited to the legislature. While interpreting laws, judges also make use of comparative law. Recourse to foreign law, sometimes, constitutes the main reason for court's decision when a rule of domestic law is obscure and requires interpretation. Judicial reference to foreign law, in this sense, is studied under the title of "judicial transplants", which is a complex and recent topic in the field of comparative law. In the legal literature of Iran, studying judicial transplants, as well as their dimensions and conditions, is unprecedented. In this article, the authors try to introduce judicial transplants in the field of private law in common law, civil law and the legal system of Iran through an analytical, comparative and case study approach. This study shows that judicial transplants in common law (except in the case of the United States) are more frequent and vivid as compared to civil law. However, in recent years, there have also been significant developments in favor of judicial transplants in civil law countries. Study of judicial transplants in the legal system of Iran suggests that, considering the Constitution and national laws of the country, it is possible for Iranian judges, under special circumstances, to refer to foreign rules and possibly transplant them in conducting judicial interpretation. Thus, in the remainder of this study, some examples of judicial transplants in Iran are identified and investigated.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

  1. فایل کلیه منابع به انگلیسی

    References

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    Jurisprudence

     

    Iranian Judgements: (in Persian)

    1. Binding Precedent of the Supreme Court, no. 12, on: (1962/10/3) , online at: https://rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/101593 . 
    2. Binding Precedent of the Supreme Court, no. 42, on: (1972/10/24), online at: https://rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/101615.
    3. Binding Precedent of the Supreme Court, no. 62, on: (1973/1/31), online at: https://rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/101627 .
    4. Binding Precedent of the Supreme Court, no. 224, on: (1970/9/30), online at: https://rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/101624
    5. Judgement no. (9109970001001256), on: (2013/1/16), Issued by (Branch 50 of Tehran Provincial Court of Appeal). 
    6. Judgement no. (9209970223500024), on: (2013/4/13), Issued by (Branch 35 of Tehran Provincial Court of Appeal). 
    7. Judgement no.  (9309970223300886), on: (2014/9/27), Issued by (Branch 33of Tehran Provincial Court of Appeal). 
    8. Judgement no. (9309970224401163), on: (2014/11/30), Issued by (Branch 44 of Tehran Provincial Court of Appeal). 
    9. Judgement no. (9209970220101717), on: (2014/3/3), Issued by (Branch 1 of Tehran Provincial Court of Appeal), online at: http://j.ijri.ir/SubSystems/Jpri2/Showjudgement.aspx?id=UlhET0Z2aTJFdEk9
    10. Judgement no. (9209970270400496), on: (2013/8/19), Issued by (Branch 59 of Tehran Provincial Court of Appeal), online at: http://j.ijri.ir/SubSystems/Jpri2/Showjudgement.aspx?id=K0RrYk9zV3F6Z009

     

    Foreign Judgements:

    1. TF (The Swiss Federal Court) 28.11.2006, ATF 133 III 257 (parrots case).
    2. Golshani v. Gouvernement de la Re´publique islamique d’Iran, Cass. Civ 1, July 6, 2005.
    3. Express Newspapers plc v News (UK) Ltd [1990] 3 All ER 376 (Ch).
    4. Fairchild v Glenhaven Funeral Services Ltd [2002] UKHL 22.
    1. Perruche JCP 13 Dec 2000, no 50, pp 2293 ff.

     

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History

  • Receive Date: 02 July 2020
  • Revise Date: 28 July 2020
  • Accept Date: 28 July 2020

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