Nouraei & M. Mostafavi Law Offices – 15 February 2026 – Tehran –In a judgment issued about four years ago, which had recently been finalized and published for public knowledge, some articles of international treaties were relied on in favour of a woman seeking a divorce.
According to Article 9 of the Civil Code of Iran:” Treaty stipulations which have been, in accordance with the Constitutional Law, concluded between the Iranian Government and other governments, shall have the force of law”.
Hence, although Iranian judges are required to implement the international obligations of the Iranian Government as domestic Iranian law, this issue has not received much attention in Iranian judicial practice. Iranian courts usually issue their verdicts and rulings in accordance with domestic laws and regulations. Notwithstanding, the said judgment and similar ones may influence decisions of other courts as precedent in similar cases.
The full text of the judgment No. 14007920001812324 dated 25/04/1401 (16 July 2022) issued by Tehran Province Appeal Courts is as follows:
‘’Concerning the appeal petition of Mr. SH… versus Mrs. M.N.., issued by Branch…, which contains the issuance of a certificate of impossibility of reconciliation (of the wife and the husband), the appeal is not relevant. Because. In addition to the correct reasoning and inference of the honourable first instance court, one of the important conditions for the continuation of the wife’s living with her husband is to have spiritual, moral, and dignity security in the family and social environment. As the Holy Quran states in verse 21 of Surah al-Rum, the goal of married life is to achieve peace. In addition, domestic and international human rights documents, including Article 22 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Articles 3, 12, and 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, and Article 18 of the Declaration of Islamic Rights of 1990*, and Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights adopted in 1966 by the General Assembly of the United Nations, which the Iranian Government ratified without reservation in 1354 (1975), which, according to Article 9 of the Civil Code (of Iran), is considered as a domestic law, endorse such a right. Consequently, it is hereby emphasized that the husband has jeopardized this security. Because the husband (appellant) has filed a complaint against his wife on charges of theft and illicit relationship, and on the other hand, he has been convicted of insulting and threatening his wife, therefore, due to the lack of physical and dignity security in the current situation, it is not possible for the wife to continue living with her husband, and the husband does not have a real will to continue living with his wife. With the appeal being rejected, based on the aforementioned domestic and international human rights documents and Article 358 of the Civil Procedure Code, the judgment is upheld. This decision, based on Paragraph A of Article 368 and Article 397 of the aforementioned Code, is appealable to the Supreme Court of the country within 20 days after notification’’.
*AI: The Declaration of Islamic Rights of 1990 starts by saying: “All human beings form one family whose members are united by their subordination to Allah and descent from Adam”, and it forbids “discrimination on the basis of race, color, language, belief, sex, religion, political affiliation, social status or other considerations”.
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