A Comparative Study of the Involvement of Public Opinion in Selection of Judges from the Perspective of Islamic Jurisprudence

One of the judicial issues in the most important legal systems of the world is how to select judges who have jurisprudential and legal aspects. The election of judges based on public opinion is one of the most efficient ways of recruiting judges in these systems. For this reason, understanding the jurisprudential foundations of the theory that implies the selectivity of judges is very significant. The majority of jurists did not consider the public opinion to play a role in appointing a judge. Among contemporary jurists, some of Grand Ayatollah Khoei’s followers and some Sunni jurists believe that public opinion is involved in the appointment of judges. The main reason for the theory of electing a judge in the jurisprudence of Islamic denominations is the appearance that they have had from some verses and hadiths. Some of the reasons for this view are common in Imami and Sunni jurisprudence and other reasons are specific. Citing some verses of the Quran as well as referring to the system of “Judges as Arbitrators” to involve public opinion in the election of judges is one of the standard arguments between Imami jurisprudence and the jurisprudence of other Islamic denominations and in this regard, there is a proximity between Islamic denominations. In the present article, while explaining the views on the appointment of judges, some objections to the theory of electing judges are also mentioned.