Article 167 in the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran states: "The judge is bound to endeavor to judge each case on the basis of the codified law. In case of the absence of any such law, he has to deliver his judgment on the basis of authoritative Islamic sources and authentic fatwa. He, on the pretext of the silence of or deficiency of law in the matter, or its brevity or contradictory nature, cannot refrain from admitting and examining cases and delivering his judgment. "In this piece of writing the author raises questions concerning the effectiveness of article 167 and tries to show that although it appears to solve problems and counterbalance the absence of codified laws, a second glance reveals that the implementation of this article will encounter many obstacles.
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