heory on the Nature of Parliamentary Representation in Iran

The most important achievement of constitutionalism in Iran was the formation of the National Assembly. One of the common terms being applied to the members of parliament from the beginning of the establishment of this institution and even before it, was the term ‘vakil’[1]. In Shiite fiqh, ‘vekalat’[2] had its own effects and rules, and at first glance indicated a limited bilateral relationship in private law. This use led to proposing the theory of the similarity of the parliamentary representation institution with fiqhi (jurisprudential) representation. By defining the concept of vekalat in the West and describing the intellectual and public atmosphere of the formation of the first National Assembly, this article aims to determine if one can with certainty accept the existence of the theory of similarity of fiqhi vekalat (jurisprudential advocacy) with parliamentary representation as a common theory in the era of the formation of the first parliament. According to the findings of this article, the theory of similarity at the time of the formation of the parliament did not have a serious supporter, and ignoring the western origin of this term and neglecting historical events has led to the proposal as a common theory. This result has been obtained by using the library method and examining the actions and writings of the main currents at the beginning of the constitution, consisting of intellectuals and religious scholars, members of parliament and finally the general people.