Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Private Law, Faculty of Law and Political Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

2 Department of Private Law, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Alborz Campus, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

10.22059/jrwm.2026.401520.1849

Abstract

The normative analysis of legislative behavior in the field of national lands is of great significance, as it clarifies the approaches and strategies adopted by the legislator in enacting relevant laws and regulations. This research, employing an inductive approach (from the particular to the general), seeks to delineate the legislator’s overall perspective on national lands over the past century and, by identifying its underlying dimensions, to provide an evaluation of this perspective. Under the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, national lands, classified as anfāl (public wealth), are owned by the state. Nevertheless, the formal exercise of state ownership over such lands was established in 1962 with the enactment of the Nationalization of Forests and Rangelands Act. A review of legislative developments in this field indicates that the legislator’s primary objective in abolishing private ownership was to protect these resources and prevent their degradation through the regulation of their exploitation. Over the past sixty-two years, numerous laws concerning the exploitation, conservation, and management of national lands have been enacted; however, the degradation of these resources has continued to accelerate. To identify the underlying causes of this failure, the study examines the normative patterns of legislation governing national lands since the enactment of the first relevant law, in order to determine which concepts or regulatory measures were overlooked, thereby contributing to the current widespread destruction of natural resources. The findings reveal that the problem lies not in a lack of laws but in the excessive proliferation of ineffective and incoherent regulations. Based on these findings, the study proposes several recommendations to strengthen legislative policy, including consolidating fragmented legislation, strengthening enforcement and oversight, and reforming institutional structures to shift from the current reactive and sectoral approach toward a preventive and holistic framework that better safeguards national lands for future generations.

Keywords

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