Public Law Studies Quarterly

Feasibility of the Hermeneutic Views of Schleiermacher and Gadamer in Article 73 of the Iranian Constitution

Document Type : Article

Authors

Mohammad Amini 1
Mohammad Mahdi Alsharif 2
Hassan PoorBaferani 2
Mahdi Shahabi, 2

1 Ph.D. Student (Candidate) in Private Law, Faculty of Administrative Sciences and Economics, ‎University, of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran‎

2 Associate Prof., Department of Law, Faculty of Administrative Sciences and Economics, ‎University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran‎

https://doi.org/10.22059/jplsq.2024.375965.3525
Abstract
In hermeneutics, which has undergone various phases, some thinkers like Schleiermacher view the interpreter's mission as an awareness of the author's individuality, while others, such as Gadamer (the leader of phenomenological hermeneutics), pursue true understanding within the interpretive horizon of the interpreter using a dialectical method. Principle 73 of the Iranian Constitution specifies the competent authority for interpreting ordinary laws, which is a legislative body (similar to Schleiermacher's hermeneutics), and also grants judges the authority to interpret in order to discern rights. Therefore, considering the legislator's provision for interpretation by judges, can one, when interpreting within the Iranian legal system, transcend the superficial layer of the law and reach the text beyond it according to Gadamer's hermeneutics? This research, employing a descriptive-analytical method and scrutinizing the existing legal logic based on Islamic Sharia, reveals that when interpreting laws derived from Sharia (including civil law and Islamic penal law), it is necessary for the interpreter to seek support from religious sources in their interpretive theory and cannot solely act according to their own mental horizon (regardless of the legislator's intent) while considering factors such as justice and fairness, as pursued in Gadamer's phenomenological hermeneutics.

Keywords

Schleier Macher
Gadamer
hermeneutics
article 73 of the constitution
Iran's legal system
logic of law
Subjects

  1. English

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Public Law Studies Quarterly
Volume 55, Issue 3 - Serial Number 43
Autumn 2025
Autumn 2025
Pages 1529-1552

  • Receive Date 12 May 2024
  • Revise Date 07 July 2024
  • Accept Date 15 September 2024

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