Iran

• The Constitution of 1979, the highest law, with a Supreme Leader at the top of the political and religious order
• Statutes passed by the Islamic Consultative Assembly (parliament) and approved by the Guardian Council
• Written codes such as the Civil Code (adopted in the 1920s and 30s on a French and Belgian pattern, combined with Islamic jurisprudence)
• Islamic jurisprudence, which fills gaps where no statute applies

• The Supreme Court, the highest court in civil and criminal matters
• Public courts, and separate Revolutionary Courts for some state-security and other offences
• The Court of Administrative Justice, for complaints against public bodies

A law degree, then a bar exam and a period of supervised training under the bar association. Only Iranian citizens can qualify.

• The Guardian Council has six clerics and six jurists. It decides whether laws agree with the Constitution and with Islamic law.
• The head of the judiciary is appointed by the Supreme Leader.
• Alongside the ordinary courts there are special courts, such as the Revolutionary Courts and special clerical courts.
• The private-law codes are close in structure to the civil-law codes of Europe, though adapted to Islamic law.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey, Pakistan, France

The University of Ottawa’s JuriGlobe database lists Iran as: Muslim, Civil law. It names the systems in order of importance.

The map colours a country by the first-named system, and shows both civil-law and common-law countries as “mixed”. It is a simplification, and real systems are rarely pure.

Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei, Egypt, Gambia, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan.

• NYU GlobaLex: A Guide to the Legal System of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Sources last reviewed: October 2026.