The written law of this country, as in all states which have embraced the religion of Mahomed, is founded upon the Koran and the traditions, and is termed Sherrah ; and in every government strictly Mahomedan, the dis tribution of justice ought to be according to this law, and administered only by the priests. But the Persians, though they embraced the faith of the prophet, have retained many of the laws and usages of their forefathers, and have established another code of jurisprudence, called UV, or customary law. This is administered by the secular magis trates, who decide in all cases according to precedent or custom. This law is never written, and varies in different parts of the empire, because it has reference to local as well as common usages. The prevalence of either of these codes depends entirely upon the disposition of the monarch. In the reign of Sultan Hussein, the religious zeal of the sovereign made all cases be decided accord ing to the Sherrah ; and in that of Nadir Shah the whole authority was vested in the secular magistrates. At pre sent the decisions of ecclesiastical judges are limited to disputes about religious ceremonies, inheritance, marri age, divorce, contracts, sales, and all civil cases ; while, in the Courts of Urf are instituted, all proceedings respect ing murder, theft, fraud, and every crime that is capital, or•that can be called a breach of the public peace.
The supreme judge of the Court of Sherrah is called Scheik-ul- Islam, or " Chief of the Faith," of which there is one in every principal city. lie receives his appoint ment, and also a liberal salary, from the king. Under hint are the Cauzee or judge, and the JI/ufti, whose duty it is to prepare an exposition of the case before the court, and to aid with his advice. All difficult cases, however, are submitted to the Moosheaheds, an order of priests who ex ercise a great, though undefined, power over the Courts of Sherrah. These men receive no appointment, and have no specific duties to discharge ; but from their su perior learning, piety and virtue, are chosen by the silent hut unanimous suffrage of the inhabitants to be their guides in religion, and their protectors against the oppres sion of their rulers. There are seldom more than three or four priests exalted to this dignity in Persia. Their conduct is expected to be most exemplary, and their character unstained by any worldly bias. They are re garded with the greatest respect and veneration both by the king and the people ; and even their habitations arc deemed sanctuaries for the oppressed. The royal ear is always open to a revered Mooshtahed, when he becomes an intercessor for the guilty ; and a city is often spared because a Mooshtahed has chosen it for his residence, and refuses to dwell in the midst of violence and injustice.
The Urf, or customary law, is administered by the king, his lieutenants, governors of cities, and other law magis trates. In the capital, the king himself daily sits in judg
ment ; and he alone possesses the power of life and death. This power is never delegated to an inferior judge, unless in the time of a rebellion, or when the government is com mitted to one of the blood-royal. All the proceedings are conducted in open court ; the decisions arc summary, but not always consonant to justice; and though a suit is attended with little apparent cost, yet considerable sums are often given in bribes. The punishments inflicted are most barbarous : strangling, decapitation, and stabbing, arc the common modes of putting criminals to death ; but in cases of enormity, when an impression of terror is to be made, or a passion of revenge to be gratified, there is no measure to their inventive cruelty. Mr. Jukes men tions. the case of a slave, who, having attempted to poi son the family whom he served, was sentenced to be hung by the heels in the common market-place and to be cut up in the same manner as a butcher does the carcass of a sheep : but he was denied the mercy shewn to that animal, of having his throat cut before he was quartered. Rebels are burned alive, or sawed in two. Robbers are impaled, or have their limbs torn asunder by the elastic rebound of the branches of trees , and Mr. Kinnear mentions that he saw four thieves built into a wall, all but their heads, and thus left to perish. The lesser penalties are deprivation of sight, mutilation of the ears, nose or hands, and the bastinado on the soles of the feet.
Among the wandering tribes the system of judicature differs materially from that established in towns. The elders, with the Moollah or priest of the tribe, whose duty it is to expound, when required, the holy law, form a council, where all questions of importance are fully dis cussed and decided by a majority of voices. In common cases, however, the chief or his deputy passes judgment in a similar manner as the lay magistrate of a city ; and though they arc in general careful to preserve the attach ment of their followers, yet they arc sometimes both cruel and oppressive. Among this class, a murderer, when the crime is proved, is given up to the heir of the deceased, who may either forgive, or take the price of blood, or put him to death. But the great object of the council is to compound for this crime, especially when the parties be long to different tribes ; for if this is prevented, and the offender is screened from justice, the heirs of the deceas ed feel disgraced until they can obtain revenge. The most bloody feuds are often the consequence, and these are handed down from generation to generation. Should the chief of a tribe commit any open act of treason, the king, if lie can seize him, deprives him of sight, or puts him to death; but, if he has merited capital punishment for any other crime, his case is referred to the Court of Sher rah, that his blood may not rest upon the monarch.