Sar-qoflī in the Customs and Laws of Modern Iran: The Emergence of Haqq-e Kasb o Pīshe o Tejārat and the Evolution of the Shop-lease Contract System

In the shop-lease contract with sar-qoflī, which is a widely practiced form of lease contract in today's Iran, a lessor of a shop sells to a hirer a right called sar-qoflī which amounts to almost as much as the entire value of the shop's ownership, while obtaining a monthly rent of only small value. This peculiar form of contract was brought into existence based on a new right called “haqq-e kasb o pīshe o tejārat,” that emerged as a result of the blending of traditional customary practice relating to real estate leasing with Anglo-American value concepts. The adoption of this right, causing as it did the lessor's responsibility for compensation for the value of the usufructuary right, drastically changed the relationship between lessors and hirers in Iran.     

Spinal degenerative lesions and spinal ligamentous ossifications in ancient Chinese populations of the Yellow River Civilization

Rheumatological diseases, whether inflammatory or degenerative, are ubiquitous among modern Asian people but very few palaeopathological studies have been performed in Asia on this subject. Since 1996, we have been carrying out a palaeoepidemiological survey of rheumatic diseases in ancient Chinese and Japanese skeletal populations. Findings on the spinal column in ancient Chinese populations (ca. 5000 bc –ad 1644) in Henan Province (centre of the Yellow River Civilization) are reported in this study. The examined number of the people over 20 years old was 365 (185 males, 169 females and 11 unsexed). Of these, 248 were young adults, 98 were middle adults and 19 were old adults. Crude prevalence (number/100) in total population of vertebral osteophytosis/facet osteoarthritis was 17.5/7.7, 17/3.7 and 44.6/21.1 at the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine, respectively. That of ossified anterior longitudinal ligament (OALL) or Forestier's disease was around 3 at each of the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine. Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) of the cervical spine was observed in five out of 114 skeletons with cervical spine preserved, while it did not exist in any thoracic and lumbar segment. Ossification of the ligamentum flavum (OLF) was predominantly observed in the thoracic spine, the crude prevalence of which was 36.7. Overall spinal degenerative lesions seemed to have been more prevalent and spinal ligament ossifications less prevalent in ancient Chinese populations than in modern people. None of the inflammatory lesions like rheumatoid spondylitis, as well as seronegative spondyloarthropathies, were detected. This is the first palaeopathological study in which the prevalence of OPLL and OLF, the two clinically important spinal ligamentous ossifications causing myelopathy in modern mankind, was surveyed in ancient skeletons. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

“Shop-lease Contract with Sar-qofli” in the Post-Iranian Revolution Era: Deletion of “Haqq-e kasb o pisheh o tejārat” from the Law of Lessor–Lessee Relationships

In contemporary Iran, many shops are under the “shop-lease contract with sar-qofli.” In this contract, sar-qofli, a strong usufructuary right supported by intangible assets such as the shop's reputation, is given to the tenant. The “shop-lease contract with sar-qofli” originated from a traditional merchants' custom in Iran's business quarters. After the 1979 Revolution, the Law of Lessor–Lessee Relationships, which provides a legal framework for the practice of “shop-lease contract with sar-qofli,” was completely revised, since Islamic jurists regarded haqq-e kasb o pisheh o tejārat as problematic. Haqq-e kasb o pisheh o tejārat, the legal designation of sar-qofli, was based on a heterogeneous value concept introduced into the Iranian legal system from abroad during World War II. As a result of this revision, another alternative for asset management was granted to shop owners. Nevertheless, “shop-lease contract with sar-qofli” remains the most widely employed form of lease in Iran's property lease market.