Journal of Historical Research, Law and Policy

Judicial Jurisdiction in Disputes Arising from International Electronic Contracts: A Comparative Study Between Iraqi and Iranian Law

Abdolreza Lotfi ^* iD , Ali Taresh Hamad iD , Hayder Shakir Mutashar iD

This article examines judicial jurisdiction in disputes arising from international electronic contracts through a comparative study of Iraqi and Iranian law. The expansion of electronic commerce has weakened the adequacy of traditional jurisdictional connecting factors such as domicile, place of contract formation, and place of performance, because electronic contracts are often concluded through digital platforms, automated systems, and cross-border data exchanges. The study adopts a comparative-analytical method to evaluate how Iraqi and Iranian legal systems respond to jurisdictional challenges created by electronic contracting. The article argues that although traditional rules remain relevant, they must be adapted to the realities of cyberspace. In both legal systems, jurisdiction should not be based merely on website accessibility, server location, or incidental data routing. Instead, courts should focus on substantial connection, deliberate targeting of the forum market, electronic performance, reasonable foreseeability, valid electronic consent, and protection of weaker parties. The study finds that Iranian law has a relatively clearer statutory basis for recognizing electronic communications through its Electronic Commerce Law, whereas Iraqi law requires stronger integration of electronic transaction principles into jurisdictional analysis. However, both systems still lack comprehensive and explicit rules for international electronic jurisdiction. The article concludes that Iraqi and Iranian law should develop a balanced jurisdictional framework that respects party autonomy in commercial contracts, scrutinizes unfair forum-selection clauses in consumer contracts, recognizes reliable electronic evidence, and avoids excessive assertions of jurisdiction based on purely technical digital contacts. Such reform would enhance legal certainty, improve access to justice, and support the growth of cross-border electronic commerce.

Legal Regulation of Investment in Renewable Energy Projects: A Comparative Study Between Iraqi Legislation and Iranian Law

Abdolreza Lotfi ^* iD , Karrar Mohammed Abed iD , Aqeel Sabr Shamkhi iD

https://doi.org/10.61838/jhrlp.341

This article examines the legal regulation of investment in renewable energy projects through a comparative study of Iraqi legislation and Iranian law. The study is based on the premise that renewable energy investment requires more than policy support; it requires a coherent legal framework capable of ensuring regulatory stability, investor protection, bankable contractual arrangements, transparent licensing, environmental compliance, and effective dispute settlement. Iraq and Iran both possess considerable renewable energy potential and both face rising electricity demand, environmental pressure, and the strategic need to diversify energy systems historically dependent on fossil fuels. However, their legal and institutional challenges differ. In Iraq, renewable energy investment is affected by administrative fragmentation, electricity-sector weakness, institutional overlap, political risk, and the need to transform general investment guarantees into project-specific legal protections. In Iran, the principal challenges concern regulatory instability, financing restrictions, sanctions-related barriers, currency and payment risks, and the need to strengthen the enforceability of long-term power purchase commitments. The article analyzes the conceptual foundations of renewable energy investment, the Iraqi legal framework, the Iranian legal framework, and the comparative strengths and weaknesses of both systems. It argues that successful renewable energy investment regulation must integrate investment law, energy law, environmental law, administrative law, and contract law within a unified legal strategy. The findings indicate that Iraq requires a more consolidated renewable energy legislative framework, while Iran requires stronger regulatory stability and financial credibility. The article concludes that both legal systems should adopt transparent licensing procedures, standardized power purchase agreements, protected grid-access rights, clear environmental approval mechanisms, effective incentives, and reliable dispute-resolution structures to attract sustainable domestic and foreign investment in renewable energy projects.

Evaluation of the Policymaking System and Institutions for Combating Administrative Corruption in Afghanistan during the Republican Period (2004–2021)

Homayoun Saber Aman iD , Akbar Ashrafi ^* iD , Hojatollah Darvishpour iD

https://doi.org/10.61838/jhrlp.383

Administrative corruption was one of the most significant governance challenges in Afghanistan during the Republican period (2004–2021), with far-reaching effects on political legitimacy, state efficiency, and public trust. In response to this challenge, the Afghan government, with the support of the international community, established a set of laws, strategies, and specialized anti-corruption institutions. The present study was conducted with the aim of evaluating the policies and institutions for combating administrative corruption during the Republican period. The research method was descriptive-analytical, and the data were collected through the review of legal documents, national strategies, official reports, and scholarly sources. The theoretical framework of the study is based on the integration of institutionalism, good governance theory, public choice theory, the public policy cycle, and a justice-oriented approach. The findings indicate that although the Afghan government made considerable progress in the areas of legislation, the establishment of specialized institutions, and the acceptance of international commitments, these measures failed to lead to a sustainable reduction in corruption. Examination of the policy cycle shows that the most significant weakness emerged at the stages of policy implementation and oversight. Furthermore, the weakness of formal institutions, the influence of informal power networks, conflicts of interest and rent-seeking, limited transparency and accountability, dependence on foreign aid, and the gap between policymaking and implementation were among the most important factors contributing to the relative failure of anti-corruption policies. The results of the study indicate that the success of anti-corruption policies depends, more than on the enactment of new laws, on strengthening institutional capacity, ensuring the independence of oversight and judicial institutions, reducing the influence of informal power networks, and establishing effective mechanisms of accountability and transparency.

The Role of Economic Crises in the Weakening of the Samanid State

Alireza Janbazi iD , Mohammad Taghi Latifi Shirdar ^* iD , Ramzan Seaghal iD

https://doi.org/10.61838/jhrlp.397

The Samanid state (874–999 CE) was one of the most significant Iranian dynasties in Central Asia and Khorasan. By relying on agricultural prosperity, control over major trade routes, and an efficient administrative system, it succeeded in establishing nearly a century of political and cultural stability. Nevertheless, during the final decades of the tenth century, a combination of economic crises—including declining fiscal revenues, agricultural recession, monetary instability, the spread of administrative corruption, and rising military expenditures—gradually undermined the foundations of Samanid power. Employing a descriptive-analytical method and drawing on primary sources such as The History of Bukhara, Tajārib al-Umam, and Zayn al-Akhbār, this article demonstrates that the economic crisis was not an independent cause but rather an “accelerating factor” that, together with court rivalries and military pressure from the Ghaznavids and Turkic tribes, hastened the process of the Samanids’ political collapse. The findings indicate that the government’s inability to pay the stipends of Turkic military slaves, the depreciation of coinage, and the deterioration of Transoxiana’s irrigation network were the most significant manifestations of the economic crisis, contributing to the disintegration of central authority and facilitating the rise of rival powers such as the Ghaznavids. The results further demonstrate that the Samanid economic crisis was not an accidental phenomenon but the outcome of a series of long-term structural pressures that ultimately generated a cycle of economic and political instability. The collapse of the Samanid state may therefore be regarded as a prominent example of the structural decline of a premodern state whose disintegration was facilitated by the concurrence of fiscal crisis, elite competition, and institutional weakness.

An Examination of the Political, Social, and Cultural Functions of Punishments during the Early Abbasid Period (750–847 CE)

Hamid Heydarifar iD , Ghaffar Pourbakhtiar ^* iD , Reza Kianinia iD , Ali Bahranipour iD

https://doi.org/10.61838/jhrlp.407

This study examines the political, social, and cultural functions of punishments during the early Abbasid period (750–847 CE). During the first century of Abbasid rule, methods of punishment and the administration of justice were influenced by Islamic teachings, Arab traditions, and the legal and cultural systems of the conquered territories. In general, punitive practices during this period represented a combination of Islamic principles, Arab customs, and pragmatic policies intended to preserve political power. These punishments had profound effects on society, the political order, and the formation of Abbasid identity. Although some punitive measures contributed to the consolidation of the caliphate, others generated widespread dissatisfaction and provoked successive revolts in various regions. The findings demonstrate that punishment during this period was deeply intertwined with politics, society, and culture and played a fundamental role in shaping and perpetuating the structure of the Abbasid Caliphate. At the political level, punishments served an essential function in consolidating the newly established Abbasid regime. At the social level, they played a decisive role in maintaining order, regulating public conduct, and reproducing social structures. At the cultural and psychological levels, punishments profoundly influenced political culture, historical memory, and the public moral consciousness of Abbasid society. Punitive practices also contributed to reproducing the concept of caliphal awe and authority, constructing an image of political power that was simultaneously fearsome and sacred.

A Methodological Critique of Fakher Jasim’s Dissertation Tatawwur al-Fikr al-Siyasi lada al-Shi‘a al-Ithna ‘Ashariyya fi ‘Asr al-Ghayba: From Political Reductionism to a Multilayered Model of Authority in Imami Shi‘i Political Thought

Seyyed Hassan Dehghani Sanij ^* iD , Ahmad Fallahzadeh iD

https://doi.org/10.61838/jhrlp.410

Fakher Jasim’s dissertation, Tatawwur al-Fikr al-Siyasi lada al-Shi‘a al-Ithna ‘Ashariyya fi ‘Asr al-Ghayba [The Development of Political Thought among the Twelver Shi‘a in the Age of Occultation], constitutes an attempt to historically reconstruct the transformation of Imami Shi‘i political thought from the beginning of the Occultation to contemporary formulations of wilayat al-faqih (guardianship of the jurist). The significance of the dissertation lies in its engagement with a fundamental question: the nature of the relationship among the Imamate, Occultation, religious authority, and political power. Nevertheless, its periodization of historical developments and its explanation of theological concepts encounter a number of methodological challenges. Using a descriptive-analytical method, intratextual critique, and intertextual analysis, the present study evaluates the dissertation’s theoretical foundations, historical structure, level of analysis, and manner of representing intra-confessional diversity. The theoretical framework of the study is based on the concept of “political reductionism,” operationalized through five indicators: reducing religious authority to political domination, substituting historical formation for conceptual validity, linearizing historical developments, neglecting institutions and social intermediaries, and treating wilayat al-faqih as the necessary culmination of Imami history. The findings indicate that, despite its attention to historical contexts, the dissertation does not adequately distinguish among the theological, epistemic, institutional, and political dimensions in its analysis of the Imamate, infallibility, divine designation, and religious authority. Consequently, the Imamate, which in Imami theology constitutes a divinely instituted and epistemic office, is reduced in the dissertation primarily to a political and historical institution. Moreover, positioning Imami political history along a single trajectory of “transition from revolutionary action to political quietism and subsequently to wilayat al-faqih” is inconsistent with evidence concerning the institutional networks of the Imamate, epistemic authority, Na’ini’s constitutionalism, the conditional political quietism of the Khoei school, Imam Khomeini’s theory of government, the divergent models of divine sovereignty advanced by Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr and Muhammad Taqi al-Modarresi, and the emergence of the Shi‘i civil-state theory. As a result, the dissertation’s account of the history of Imami political thought is directed toward a linear and unilinear explanation that fails to represent part of the diversity within Imami juridical and political traditions. Finally, the article proposes a five-layered model consisting of “theological legitimacy, epistemic authority, juridical mediation, institutional organization, and political governance” for studying the transformation of Imami political thought. While acknowledging the role of history and society, this model prevents the reduction of intra-religious concepts to structures of power. By contrast, because the dissertation reduces theological concepts to the logic of political power, its analysis offers a reductionist and analytically insufficient representation of the development of Imami Shi‘i political thought.

The Impact of International Environmental Law Obligations on the Principle of Intergenerational Equity and Its Legal Obstacles During the Period 1972–2024

Davood Keramati iD , Armin Amini ^* iD , Fatemeh Binazadeh iD

https://doi.org/10.61838/jhrlp.415

Intergenerational equity, as a concept concerned with the rights and interests of future generations, emphasizes the necessity of responsible utilization of natural resources and environmental protection. This concept entered the contemporary discourse of international environmental law with the 1972 Stockholm Conference and, by 2024, had been further developed through major international instruments, including the 1992 Rio Declaration, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Kyoto Protocol, the Paris Agreement, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Declaration on Future Generations. Employing a descriptive-analytical method and analyzing international instruments and judicial decisions, the present study examines how these instruments, through the establishment of state obligations, the creation of legal frameworks, and the strengthening of mechanisms for international cooperation, can contribute to ensuring future generations’ access to minimum standards of living and sustainable natural resources. The findings indicate that the principle of intergenerational equity requires development and the exploitation of natural resources to be regulated in a manner that safeguards the legitimate rights and interests of future generations and establishes an appropriate balance between the interests of the present generation and those of subsequent generations. Nevertheless, the existing legal regime has a hybrid structure: some relevant norms are articulated in declarations and other soft-law instruments, whereas others have materialized as binding treaty obligations, particularly obligations of conduct and procedural obligations. Accordingly, international environmental law cannot be characterized in its entirety as soft law. However, the fragmentation of legal rules, the weakness of certain enforcement mechanisms, the dependence of implementation on the political will of states, and the difficulties associated with the representation of future generations have reduced its practical effectiveness. The principal contribution of this study lies in providing a systematic analysis of the historical and legal development of international obligations during the period 1972–2024 and assessing the extent of their impact on intergenerational equity. Finally, the adoption of a comprehensive convention on intergenerational equity, consideration of the possibility of internationally criminalizing ecocide, and the establishment of a judicial mechanism or a specialized environmental chamber are proposed as measures for strengthening the enforcement of this principle.

Time and Public Policy in Iran: Explaining the Failure of the Sixth Development Plan

Reza Khani iD , Mohammad Khezri ^* iD

https://doi.org/10.61838/jhrlp.418

Iran has more than seven decades of experience in national development planning, yet successive development plans have repeatedly failed to achieve many of their principal economic, social, administrative, and institutional objectives. This study examines the failure of the Sixth Development Plan through the analytical lens of time and temporality in public policy. Rather than treating time merely as the formal duration of a five-year plan, the study conceptualizes it as a structural dimension connecting political mandates, legislative procedures, fiscal cycles, administrative processes, and long-term developmental objectives. The research adopted a qualitative case-study design based on documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews with 18 government managers, policy practitioners, economic actors, and academic experts. The interview data were analyzed through thematic analysis, resulting in 49 subthemes organized under six principal themes. The findings indicate that the Plan’s failure resulted from the interaction of policy short-termism, institutional and electoral asynchrony, prolonged and contested formulation, comprehensive and excessive objectives, unstable financing, fragmented implementation responsibility, and weak long-term policy commitment. The misalignment between presidential and parliamentary cycles delayed approval and weakened shared ownership of the Plan, while dependence on annual budgets and volatile revenues undermined its multi-year financial assumptions. The Plan’s comprehensive orientation further increased coordination costs, dispersed administrative attention, and reduced the possibility of prioritizing limited national problems. Fragmented authority also enabled responsibility for nonimplementation to be transferred among the executive, legislature, budgetary institutions, and implementing agencies. The study concludes that the Sixth Development Plan failed because its medium-term developmental ambitions were embedded in a policymaking system governed by short political horizons, incompatible institutional calendars, uncertain resources, and discontinuous administrative commitment. Future development planning in Iran should therefore become more selective, problem-oriented, measurable, financially credible, adaptive, and institutionally coordinated across successive political periods.

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