Islam and the Contemporary World

Islam and the Contemporary World

A jurisprudential and legal study of electronic contracts in cyberspace; potentials and challenges from the perspective of Imamiyya jurisprudence and Iranian law

Document Type : Original Research Article

Author
گروه حقوق،دانشکده حقوق و علوم اجتماعی،دانشگاه پیام نور ،تهران ،ایران
10.22034/icwj.2026.601380.1091
Abstract
The increasing spread of new communication technologies and the digital economy has shifted the conclusion of contracts from traditional and face-to-face platforms to electronic platforms. Electronic contracts, one of the most important achievements of the digital age, although they have provided unique opportunities in facilitating transactions, reducing costs and expanding interactions, have created new challenges in the areas of concluding, proving, implementing and protecting the rights of the parties. The fundamental question is, with what capacities and tools can the Islamic legal system and Imami jurisprudence review and update the rules governing contracts in the face of cyberspace, and what are the appropriate legal and jurisprudential solutions to ensure the legitimacy, validity and efficiency of electronic contracts? The present study has explained the jurisprudential foundations of the legitimacy of electronic contracts, the conditions for their validity from the perspective of Imami jurisprudence, the challenges facing this type of contract and the legal and jurisprudential solutions to resolve them. The findings of the research show that the general principles governing contracts in Imami jurisprudence, including the principle of freedom of contracts, the principle of necessity, the rule of no harm, the rule of hardship and hardship, and the rule of negation of gharr, have a significant capacity to adapt to new methods of concluding contracts in cyberspace, and what can be called the impact of information technology on transactions is a change in examples, not a change in fundamental principles and rules. However, challenges such as establishing the intention and consent of the contracting parties, the validity of electronic signatures, determining the governing law and jurisdiction, consumer protection, and the flow of options in electronic contracts require jurisprudential re-reading and the establishment of appropriate regulations. Finally, the article offers suggestions for amending the e-commerce law and developing a judicial procedure based on dynamic ijtihad.
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Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 12 September 2026