Houses of Equity; judicial modernization or return to procedural traditions

non-formality, self-governance, and relative independence of this institution were believed to be the historical characteristics of procedural tradition in Iran. In the modern era, modernization of institutions and procedural practices in Iran is held to be one of the reforming measures during the Qajar and Pahlavi Sate. As for the reform, we can refer to judiciary modernization in the 1960s in the form of the White Revolution. This institution was formed to promote judicial fairness and procedural facilities in rural areas. With descriptive-analytical method and available documents and resources, this paper aims to study the foundations and functions of the Houses of Equity institution, and answer the question as to “what were the most important goals and functions of the Houses of Equity institution?”  The findings of the research indicate that we need to analyze and understand the formation of this institution in the context of the goals of the White Revolution in order to understand the formation and function of the Houses of Equity. The houses aimed to promote state bureaucracy in procedural scope by benefitting from existing traditional forces and procedures, and develop a formal trial from a non-formal trial.