Contractual Arbitration in Family Law

The general policy of the legal system in the Islamic Republic of Iran is encouraging arbitration and institutionalizing it. In the legal system of Iran, arbitration has two functions. In the Civil Procedure Code, it has a contractual basis and is a pseudo-judiciary institution. This institution can go to settle suits alongside with juridical courts. In the Protection of Family Act, however, it is a legal must for divorces on which spouses have not mutually agreed. It is a non-judiciary institution merely aimed to make peace and agreement between spouses. For this reason, contractual arbitration has more capacity to settle suits including family ones. Studies show that, in the Protection of Family Act, arbitration is awfully useless and plays a negligible role in solving family’s problems. Thus, it is better to use contractual arbitration in family law. Through contractual arbitration, spouses become, voluntarily, obliged to settle their problems through an arbitrator on which they have previously agreed and, so, avoid referring to the court. With the contract of arbitration, spouses negate themselves of the right to refer to judiciary courts and, they are not able to file the subject of arbitration in the court unless through an agreement.