Conceptions of ḍamān in the Islamic Law, Civil Liability in the Civil Law, and Tort in the Common Law: A Comparative Study

The swift trend of globalization has left its impression on comparative legal studies. A first prerequisite of a comparative study is identification of related conceptions related to a topic which is subject to comparative studies in several legal systems. The first step for any comparative study in the realm of civil liability law, Tort law, and the ḍamān-oriented Fiqh and Islamic law is the comparative identification of the three conceptions of ḍamān, civil liability, and Tort. It is significant because our current Iranian law literature is not that transparent in this regard, leading to inexact and imprecise uses of these terminologies. The present paper deals with each of these three terminologies in their genuine contexts of origination, followed by a mainly conceptual comparison, leading particularly to conceptual relations of ḍamān, itself a sophisticated term in the Islamic Fiqh and law, in contrast to its synonymous terminologies in the other two legal systems.