Identifying the Foundational Policy Propositions of the Islamic Judicial System from the Perspective of the Leadership and Judicial Structure
Subject Areas : Judical GovernanceSeyyed Samsameddin Qavami 1 , Nima Norouzi 2
1 - Director of the Islamic Management Jurisprudence Foundation and External Lecturer, Qom Seminary, Qom, Iran
2 - Department of Jurisprudence and Private Law, Faculty of Sciences and Knowledge, Al-Mustafa International University, Qom Seminary, Qom, Iran
Keywords: Imamiyyah jurisprudence, judicial governance, Islamic justice, judicial policymaking, Islamic judicial system,
Abstract :
This study aims to explicate the jurisprudential foundations of judicial governance in Islam and to extract its principal policy propositions based on Imamiyyah (Shi‘a) jurisprudence. In this framework, seven macro-level propositions—structural transparency, merit-based selection of judicial leaders, prioritization of macro-level policymaking alongside the delegation of executive affairs, oversight and management of resources, institutional coherence, equitable distribution of financial and human resources, and systematic cultivation of qualified judicial personnel—are analyzed as the essential pillars of sustainable justice. The findings indicate that each of these principles is firmly rooted in authoritative jurisprudential maxims such as ḥifẓ al-niẓām (preservation of order), adā’ al-amānāt (fulfilling trusts), nafy al-sabīl (preventing domination), lā ḍarar (no harm), and mā lā yatimm al-wājib illā bihi fa-huwa wājib (that without which an obligation cannot be fulfilled is itself obligatory). Textual analysis of Qur’anic verses and Prophetic and Imami narrations further demonstrates that the realization of judicial justice is unattainable without institutionalizing these propositions. Imamiyyah jurisprudence—grounded in the principles of authority (wilāyah), justice, and order—possesses the capacity to articulate a comprehensive model of Islamic judicial governance that is simultaneously rooted in religious legitimacy and responsive to the administrative demands of the contemporary era.
