Comparative Law in Court: A Study of Judicial Transplants in Private Law

In the world today, benefits of comparative law are not limited to the legislature. While interpreting laws, judges also make use of comparative law. Recourse to foreign law, sometimes, constitutes the main reason for court's decision when a rule of domestic law is obscure and requires interpretation. Judicial reference to foreign law, in this sense, is studied under the title of "judicial transplants", which is a complex and recent topic in the field of comparative law. In the legal literature of Iran, studying judicial transplants, as well as their dimensions and conditions, is unprecedented. In this article, the authors try to introduce judicial transplants in the field of private law in common law, civil law and the legal system of Iran through an analytical, comparative and case study approach. This study shows that judicial transplants in common law (except in the case of the United States) are more frequent and vivid as compared to civil law. However, in recent years, there have also been significant developments in favor of judicial transplants in civil law countries. Study of judicial transplants in the legal system of Iran suggests that, considering the Constitution and national laws of the country, it is possible for Iranian judges, under special circumstances, to refer to foreign rules and possibly transplant them in conducting judicial interpretation. Thus, in the remainder of this study, some examples of judicial transplants in Iran are identified and investigated.