Fiqh and Usul

Fiqh and Usul

Assessing the Evidentiary Value of Films and Photographs in Proving Illicit Relationships (A Critique of the Judgment of Branch 24 of the Supreme Court)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Javad Soltani Fard 1
Seyyed Omid Mousavi 2
1 Assistant Professor, Department of Fiqh and Private Law, Shahid Motahari University, Tehran, Iran
2 PhD Candidate, Department of Fiqh and Private Law, Shahid Motahari University, Tehran, Iran
10.22067/jfiqh.2025.93078.1952
Abstract
Today, technology has become deeply embedded in everyday human life in its various forms. Electronic data (particularly films and photographs, among the most widely used forms of technology) play a prominent role in diverse aspects of individuals' personal and social lives. One such area concerns the evidentiary value of films and photographs as independent means of proving claims before the courts; an issue that needs to be examined and justified.  The present research, conducted using a descriptive-analytical method, demonstrates that reliance on information obtained by the adjudicator through viewing films and photographs is conditional upon establishing the validity of the adjudicator's personal knowledge. However, such validity cannot be established. Assuming that the validity of the adjudicator's knowledge is accepted, this alleged evidence will not be efficacious in case of illicit relationships given the constitutive nature of evidence in these cases. Even setting aside the constitutive nature of evidence, films and photographs cannot serve as admissible evidence, because knowledge derived directly from sensory perception is considered valid, whereas information obtained by viewing films and photographs constitutes non-sensory knowledge and therefore lacks evidentiary validity. A view of the research trajectory of the present study, the judgment of Branch 24 of the Supreme Court, in which reliance was placed on films and photographs, is examined and critiqued.
Keywords
the adjudicator's knowledge
means of proof of claims
the constitutive nature of evidence
illicit relationship
Subjects
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