A word is not a crystal, transparent and unchanged, it is the skin of a living thought and may vary greatly in color and content according to the circumstances and the time in which it is used
— Adapted from the writings of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. in: Towne v. Eisner, 245 U.S. 418, 425 (1918).
A legal rule is a rule governing social conduct, and norms must be tested within the living society they are meant to regulate. It is in the courtroom that law comes alive and reveals its true character. It is for this very reason that, to varying degrees across legal systems, judicial decisions serve as a source through which legal rules are developed and shaped.
Guided by this undeniable reality, we have sought, in this issue of Comparative Civil Procedure, to bring legal rules into sharper relief through the lens of the judgments of the Supreme Court. To this end, we have drawn upon a rich and invaluable repository of decisions rendered by one of the Court’s most distinguished and learned justices. With his gracious permission, a selection of judgments delivered during his distinguished tenure as Presiding Justice of the Supreme Court’s Third Chamber has been placed before the country’s legal scholars and researchers for analysis, exposition, and critical appraisal. Our aim is to open a new window onto judicial practice for the legal community and to foster a deeper engagement with the jurisprudence of the Court.
Mr Hassan Ghaffarpour Maraghi occupies a position of considerable distinction and enjoys a well-deserved standing among the nation’s judiciary. In introducing him to our readers, we have chosen to let a friend speak of him, allowing his character to emerge through the words of one who knows him well. In so doing, we hope not only to offer a further lesson in self-knowledge, but also to afford our readers the renewed pleasure of an eloquent and intimate account. We therefore invite our readers to join us in discovering his life and career through the following autobiographical account, written in his own hand: