Iran Judgeship Exam (Ghazavvat)

Candidates normally face multiple-choice papers testing doctrinal knowledge across the core legal domains, followed by written examination for those who clear the screening stage, and then an oral examination and interview board. Background and character vetting runs alongside. The official body publishes the current structure for each cycle, so confirm the sequence and subject list there before planning.

It is competitive and demanding. Questions assume fluent command of statutory text and the ability to apply it to unfamiliar facts, not just memorised definitions. Civil law, civil procedure, and the criminal subjects carry the most weight, so weakness there is hard to offset elsewhere. Serious candidates typically prepare over many months alongside other commitments.

Retake rules, including any limits on the number of attempts and any waiting periods, are set by the administering body and can change between cycles. Do not rely on second-hand accounts. Check the current announcement on the official judiciary website, and if the wording is ambiguous, seek written clarification before the registration deadline.

Time limits are set per paper by the administering body and are announced with the exam schedule, so they vary by cycle and by stage. The official announcement is the only reliable source. In practice, the multiple-choice papers reward fast, accurate reading, so practise under timed conditions rather than assuming you will finish comfortably.

Start with civil law and Islamic jurisprudence together, since the Civil Code is rooted in jurisprudential reasoning and each reinforces the other. Then take civil procedure, which depends on civil law, and criminal law with criminal procedure as a pair. Add commercial law, evidence, and family law afterwards, keeping constitutional, administrative, and ethics for shorter, later revision blocks.

Three recur: superficial memorisation without the ability to apply rules to new facts; neglect of procedural subjects, which are treated as less glamorous but carry real weight; and poor time management in the multiple-choice stage. A fourth is weak legal writing in the written stage - answers that are correct in substance but unstructured and imprecise lose marks.

Candidates who clear the written stage are examined orally on legal doctrine and questioned by a board, which also assesses general knowledge, reasoning, and suitability for judicial office. Vetting of background and character is part of the process. Prepare to defend your reasoning aloud and to answer precisely; vagueness is penalised more heavily than in written papers.

Read the classical texts in the civil and criminal branches alongside the statutory articles they underlie, so you can see how a rule was derived and where the statute departs from or codifies the jurisprudence. Practise stating a jurisprudential position and its reasoning concisely, since the exam tests application, not recitation of long passages.

All of these are published by the administering body for each cycle on its official website. No third party can reliably supply them in advance, and they change from year to year. Register only through official channels, read the full announcement carefully, and keep copies of everything you submit.