ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the development and structure of personal status law in Iran through the framework of Twelver Shi’i jurisprudence. It traces the evolution of plural legal regimes from the Constitutional Revolution of 1906 to the Civil Code of 1928, the 1933 Law on the Observation of Non-Shi’i Personal Status, and the Family Protection Law of 2013. Particular attention is given to constitutional provisions that prioritize Islamic criteria, especially Articles 4 and 12, alongside the conditional recognition of minorities in Articles 13 and 14, and Iran’s international obligations under the ICCPR. The chapter reviews legislation and case law on marriage, divorce, inheritance, and custody, showing how courts apply statutory law, Shi’i jurisprudence, and public order considerations. The distinction between recognized groups - Zoroastrians, Jews, Christians, and Sunnis - and unrecognized communities such as Baha’is, Yarsanis, Mandaeans, and Sufi orders illustrates the limited scope of minority rights protection. It concludes that the lack of a coherent framework, combined with judicial discretion and the subordination of international standards to Islamic criteria, produces systemic legal uncertainty, entrenched discrimination, and persistent divergence from human rights commitments.
