نشریه تحقیقات حقوق خصوصی و کیفری
سال یکم شماره 1 (پیاپی 4، زمستان 1383)

In this article, the author attempts to fill the gap arisingfrom the lack of attention to the methodology in the field oflaw. Through putting forth the discussion of the methodologyof international law, he paves the way for researchers andstudents of international law and related fields. Studying thedominant methodological and theoretical currents in the fieldof international law, new outlooks, which were proposed inthe Methodology of International Law Symposium in 1991,are introduced and assessed. In this context, the first sectionof the article deals with the methodology in general. The othersections refer to the category of methods and methodology,and methodology in philosophy and legal studies. The authorfinally pays attention to the point that the understanding andcommand of the methods and approaches are necessary withrespect to the recognition of sources, incremental codificationand development, implementation, interpretation and judgmentat all levels of the study of international law.

In this article, the author intends to explain the IslamicRepublic of Iran’s foreign relations in the post Iran-Iraq war era,using the constructivist theory and emphasizing the awareness of the characteristics of the fourth debate in internationalrelations field. The application of the above theory, which isanalyzed as the most recent approach in international relations,is intended to answer the question that whether constructivismcould play an explanatory and interpretative role in the studyof Iran’s foreign policy and relations. This article coversthree sections the first of which describes constructivism ininternational relations and the next sections scrutinize AlexanderVent’s opinions on constructivism, and the Iranian foreign policyfrom this perspective. The author reaches the conclusion thatas long as the structure of international system differentiatesbetween the actors constituting the system and there is a lackof a realistic recognition of the nature of the structure, none ofthe approaches including realism, liberalism and constructivismis an appropriate choice in the study and analysis of the IslamicRepublic’s foreign policy.

Considering the developments taking place in Iraq andthe imminent installing of a new government in the country, theauthor, in this article, seeks to explore the opportunities andchallenges of the aforementioned situation to the Iranian nationalinterests. The main question of the research involves that whatkind of government in Baghdad would secure the Iranian nationalinterests, as the fact that Iraq has persistently represented andwill be a strategic rival and a security threat to Iran. This articleis organized in three sections. In the first section, the authorexposes the Iranian general views toward the Arab world andIraq in particular. The second and third sections observe the constants in the Iranian-Iraqi relations and pays attention to thechallenges ahead. Finally, the author undertakes that Iran andthe new Iraq are able to divert their relations from the stage ofcontinued conflicts and threatening each other’s interests anddirect them toward a constructive rivalry and cooperation withinthe framework of common interests. This will largely depend onthe first step to be taken by the new Iraqi government.

Iranian society has always shown a special interest inlearning human rights and humanitarian law. In this regard,examples abound as follow: pursuing charity activities,establishment of the Iran’s Red Crescent Society and itspredecessor, ratification of four Geneva Conventions andthe Additional Protocols, etc. This fact along with the politicaland economic characteristics of the Middle East increase thesignificance attached to the development and education ofhumanitarian law in Iran. In this context, the main question ofthe research would be how the education of humanitarian lawcan be expanded and institutionalized in Iran. To answer theaforementioned question, the authour offers the hypothesisthat informal education is of more efficiency in training andinstitutionalizing the humanitarian international law in Iran. Healso applies the instruments of observation, experimentation andthe survey of research findings in the field of humanitarian law inIran in order to test the hypothesis. He examines and comparesthe modern texts on the formal and informal education ofhumanitarian law, and modern methods of tranining humanitarian law with the informal traditional education of humanitarian law inthe country

The United States is a federal system in which poweris distributed among the states and the federal governmenton the one hand and the legislature, the executive and thejudiciary on the other. The US Supreme Court is comprised ofnine members appointed by the president for life time. Thesejudges may not be dismissed except through indictment. Themembers of the US Supreme Court are among the country’selites and mainly belong to the higher strata of middle classes.The presidents seek to appoint those for this position who arecloser to them ideologically. Notwithstanding, all members of theSupreme Court preserve their independence and act contrary tothe presidents’ opinions on many occasions. In this article, theauthor endeavors to explain the structure and functions of theUS Supreme Court, and its role and impact on the political-socialdevelopments of US society.

The decline in attention to the ideology factor representsone of the consequences of the rise of relativist and nonessentialistperspectives in political science. This process beganwith resort to the critique of subjectivism and battle against thetheory of truth in politics. The author, in this article, argues that not only influencing the concept of ideology has no bearingon subjectivism, but also a new horizon could be achieved byoffering a new understanding of the concept of ideology withinthe framework of a discourse theory. The author proposesa theory of ideology which completes the theory of discourseand does not contrast it. Hence, in his opinion, maintaining thedistinction between the two concepts of ideology and discourseis useful and better explains the relationship existing betweenthe political order-symbols and power.

It is commonly argued that classes in non-Westernsocieties are the products of state performance rather thansocial transformations. The author argues that the viciouscycle of power, that is the domination of political power overeconomic power, is one of the main reasons for the perpetuationof such a situation. In this regard, excessive class mobility is animportant obstacle to the emergence of autonomous classes inIran. It is expected that new class mobility (negative or positive)would be witnessed when there is a change in political system.Furthermore, there are other factors which affect the positionof classes in Iran. International system, religion and specificstructure of Iranian society are among these factors. Accordingto the author, understanding the question of classes depends onstudying the way in which power is executed in the society. Classis closely related to national identity, social cohesion and socialorder. Therefore, he concludes that the higher class mobility in asociety, the lower will become social cohesion.

This article foregrounds afresh the legal and policyframeworks required in the international system at both economicand human rights fields to reach effective enjoyment of theright to development. The analyses of the author relate to fourindividual studies: 1- The record of the right to development; 2-The legitimacy of the right to development; 3- Interdependenceof the right and the process of development; 4- Monitoring andimplementation. The result is an effort to dislodge internationallaw from its exclusive focus on the states, internationalinstitutions, and particular logics of economic development.The author argues that the states must recognize the right todevelopment as a human right in order to realize developmentas an obligation in the line of national action and internationalpartnership. She concludes that the development of the conceptof right to development needs time to become accomplished,though it is currently used as a bargain in the hands of states.