Ali Akbar Davar (1888-1937) was the founder of the modern judicial system of Iran. His last name is pronounced Dovar or Dävar

Born in 1888, he first started out his career in the judiciary system in Iran after finishing his studies at the elite school of Dar-ol-fonoon . He then went on to obtain his law degree in Switzerland. He returned to Iran in 1921, and founded the "Radical party of Iran" (Hizb e Radical) publishing columns in the newspaper Mard e Azad ( or "The Free Man"), which he himself founded as well. He then was elected to the 4th, 5th, and 6th Majles as the representative of Varamin and Lar from Tehran Province.

Davar became one of the politicians that opted for the fall of the Qajar dynasty, opposing Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh. In 1925, he became minister of Commerce in Mohammad Ali Forughi 's cabinet, and a year later was appointed as Minister of Judiciary Affairs in the cabinet of Mostowfi ol-Mamalek . In March of 1926, by the newly bestowed powers given to him through the parliament, he dissolved Iran's entire judiciary system, initiating a wave of fundamental restructuring and overhauling reforms with the aid of French judiciary experts.

Iran's modern judiciary system was thus born in April of 1927 with 600 newly appointed judges in Tehran. He then tried to expand the new system into other Iranian cities by further training another 250 judges.

Among the many things he did was establish Iran's "Bureau of Social Affairs" (Edareh ye Sabt e Ahval), "The Law of Registration documentation" [translation?] (Qanun e Sabt e Asnad), "The Law of Property Registration" (Qanun e Sabt e Amlak), and "Marriage and Divorce Law", among many other fundamental changes.

Davar also implemented some reforms as minister of Finance in the cabinet of prime minister Forughi. He then established Iran's first state insurance company during the cabinet of prime minister Mahmud Jam , taking effective steps in saving the government from near bankruptcy by changing tax laws.

In December of 1936, he proposed a bill to parliament that would seal a large contract with two American companies. The bill came under heavy fire from the British and Russian governments, putting intense pressure on Davar's ministry.

On February 10th of 1937, the news of Davar's apparent suicide took the capital Tehran by storm. Rumors spread that Davar had been severely reprimanded and threatened in private by Reza Pahlavi two days earlier. Some newspapers wrote that he had died of a heart attack. Others did not rule out his death as unrelated to his proposed American bill on the floor in parliament.

At any rate, Davar is regarded as one of the most productive ministers during Iran's tumultous years of the early 20th century, who made sweeping reforms to Iran's judiciary system. In commemorating Davar after his death, Reza Pahlavi is known to have told members of the Judiciary:

External links

• The Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran
• Islamic Republic of Iran Judiciary Public Relations Bureau
• Davar's great grand daughter on NPR 2

Source used for this article

Iran in the last 3 centuries. Alireza Avsati. Vol 2. ISBN 964-93406-4-5