SOCL 4471 Lecture : Socl 4471 Notes
Document Summary
Watch youtube video: crash course world history iran"s revolutions (about 15 minutes) Theocracy-government that is ruled by religion however not all theocratic systems are the same. Theocratic legal systems are those in which the legal structure and a religious ideology are intermingled and often indistinguishable. Historically, many cultures that we are familiar with have heavy theocratic elements: egypt, the puritans, most middle ages european countries, north korea. Structurally islamic law is very different from the other legal traditions: islamic law is organized around theocratic ideas-meaning that the law is religious in nature. So law is written but not 100% by a legislature: sourced from qu ran and hadith, once again we have a hybrid inquisitorial/ adversarial system very similar to the chinese system, no use of juries and no precedent. Judges use islamic teaching and holy books to inform decisions: crimes are structured around punishments that are prescribed for them rather than their offense to the community.
