Seitenhistorie

Although having some significance within Iranian legal science the principle of the rule of law (hākemiyat-e qānun) and the aspects generally associated with it remain largely absent from Iranian constitutional doctrine. Instead the latter is characterised by the prevalence of the rule of Sharia (hākemiyat-e shari'at) in its specifically Shiite interpretation of the so called velāyat-e faqhih, i.e. the guardianship of a senior religious scholar over all execution of state power in order to ensure its compatibility with Sharia. The principle of velāyat-e faqhih and its repercussions run like a red thread through the Iranian constitution and supersede all traces of hākemiyat-e qānun.