Interdiction and Marriage Dissolution

In the Iranian legal system, minors and mentally disabled individuals are considered insane and are barred from entering any legal transactions. Due to the profound effect of insanityon the marriage contract and on the dissolution of marriage, family courts have the right to enforce a dissolution through the intervention of elders or close relatives of the demented party to the marriage. However, in some cases no specified decree is in place because of the lack of legal precedent. In such cases where khul’ divorce is initiated by an insane wife, the conditions and the amount of the redemption money (fadiyah) are usually determined by tradition and attitude. The writer of this article proposes that the law be amended in the light of religious edicts (fatwas) in order to provide for suchdoubtful cases and prevent wrong decisions. The law-maker should formulate a marriage dissolution law on which the court may base a decision before the judge issues its verdict on the basis of legal documents.