Abstract
Coexistence of the followers of various religions and faiths under a single government as well as the jurisprudential rule of Ilzam (obligation) have facilitated behaving non-Shia Iranians and recognizing their personal status and capacity according to their religious rules and regulations. Upon passing the single-article bill on observing personal status and capacity of non-Shia Iranians in 1933, the lawsuits of officially recognized minorities on last wills shall be subject to rules and common law of the religion of the deceased one unless in cases related to public order, as stipulated in the second clause of the law. The rule of Ilzam has been underscored in two articles of 12 and 13 of the I. R. of Iran Constitutional Law. While studying the law governing the last will and reviewing its jurisprudential basis, this paper has presented an appropriate response to the following question: Does the single-article act include cases with Shia and non-Shia sides in the lawsuit? In response, the phrase “non-Shia Iranians” may refer to cases where lawsuit parties are both non-Shia Iranians, thus it may be inapplicable to cases where a Shia Iranian and a non-Shia Iranian are involved. Therefore, in this case judgment will be based on civil law whereas it can be claimed that by virtue of the rule of Ilzam the priority will be with the aforesaid religious laws.