مطالب

The present research aims to examine the opportunities and challenges of Shia's culture and religion in the political development process in Iraq after Saddam. The research method is de-scriptive-analytical, and the results indicate that post-Saddam Iraq provided a new opportunity for Shia to participate in power and incorporate their cultural and religious components into governance and forward-looking politics. Shia religion, due to its distinct principles of justice and imamate, sets it apart from other Islamic sects, principles that result in rationality, dy-namic jurisprudence, and freedom, aligning with political development. The approaches of Shia authorities in recent years indicate the existence of rationality as a key element and indi-cator of political development. The attention of the people and obedience to the institution of authority in various fatwas and numerous crises witnessed by Iraq are evidence of political maturity and the growth of customary reasoning among the Shia community in Iraq. Howev-er, Shia in Iraq, due to years of staying away from power, lack of political governance experi-ence, different interpretations of Shia jurisprudence regarding intervention and participation in politics, and realities of society and the international system imposed on Shia culture, have not been entirely in harmony with the Western concept of political development with Shia religious components in this post-Saddam era.

The Iran-United States Claims Tribunal (IUSCT), throughout its operation, has successfully resolved a significant number of claims and disputes—including claims by nationals against the state and state-to-state disputes—within the sensitive legal and complex political milieus between Iran and the United States. Nevertheless, the Tribunal’s role in the international arena extends beyond this inter-state dimension: its awards and decisions, as widely acknowledged, have played a significant role in the development of law on a global scale, particularly in international arbitration, international investment, and international commercial law. A structured, analytical, and methodological study of the Tribunal’s impact on the development of law in the international arena necessitates an examination of its awards and decisions across various legal fields. These include contract law, international commercial law, and international law—particularly international investment law. The first step in such a study is to assess the status of the Tribunal’s awards and decisions in the international arena, particularly their precedential value, in order to ascertain the reasons for and mechanisms behind their influence on the development of law globally. This article, while clarifying that the awards and judgments of international courts and tribunals—including the IUSCT—are not generally binding precedent, seeks to demonstrate that these decisions may nevertheless serve as persuasive authority relied upon by other arbitral and judicial bodies on both procedural and substantive matters. The criteria for evaluating the nature and extent of this persuasive value are analyzed in this study. It is argued that the Tribunal’s rulings, as decisions rendered on diverse subject matters within the legal framework applicable to various other international commercial or investment disputes—and issued by an international claims tribunal with established external credibility and consistent internal jurisprudence— carry significant persuasive precedential value in the international arena.