Application of Islamic law by country upon "authoritative Islamic sources and authentic fatwa". Book 2 of the Islamic Penal Code of Iran is entirely devoted to hudud punishments. Iranian application of sharia has been seen by scholars as highly flexible and directly contradicting traditional interpretations of the sharia. Article 1 of Civil Code identifies Islamic law as a main source of legislation. The 1958 Code, made polygamy extremely difficult, granted child custody to the mother in case of divorce, prohibited repudiation and marriage under the age of 16. In 1995, Iraq introduced Sharia punishment for certain types of criminal offenses. Iraq's legal system is based on
Sharia to enforce sharia restrictions on blasphemy and criticism of Islam over internet and social media. Sharia judicial proceedings have significant differences from other legal traditions, including those in both common law and civil law. Sharia courts traditionally do not rely on lawyers; plaintiffs and defendants represent themselves. Trials are conducted solely by the judge, and there is no jury system. There is no pre-trial discovery process, and no cross-examination of witnesses. Unlike common law, judges' verdicts do not set binding precedents under the principle of "stare decisis", and unlike civil law, sharia is left to the interpretation in each case