Qom Islamic Azad University

The ICSID Convention is one of the most important treaties in international economic law, recognizing individuals as subjects of international law and serving as a forum for the settlement of international investment disputes accepted by many states (ICSID, 1965). A foreign investor should not be concerned about entrusting the fate of an investment dispute to domestic courts. Designating the host state's judiciary as the forum for dispute resolution increases the investor’s concern regarding potential lack of impartiality. In contrast, ICSID, as a neutral arbitral institution with both subject-matter jurisdiction and personal jurisdiction—along with its Additional Facility—can encompass a wide range of foreign investment disputes and reduce foreign investors’ concerns regarding the impartiality of the dispute-resolution forum, especially given that it is accepted by most countries. Iran is not a party to the ICSID Convention, despite being a member of the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards and despite expressing willingness to remove legal barriers and fill legal gaps in the field of foreign investment. Nonetheless, Iran’s non-accession to the ICSID Convention does not appear to be justified.

Trust is recognized as a vital component in ensuring secure and stable interactions within Social Internet of Things (SIoT) networks. This study introduces an advanced model for simulating multidimensional trust relationships in SIoT, which is designed based on Watts–Strogatz (WS) random graphs and successfully reproduces the real topological features of SIoT networks with high fidelity. The proposed model incorporates a variety of relationship types such as Co-Location-Based Relationships (CLOR), Ownership-Based Relationships (OOR), Social Relationships (SOR), and Popularity-Based Relationships (POR), and integrates key attributes including spatial density, interaction frequency, owner reliability, and co-presence time to deliver a flexible and scalable structure. Analysis of the results indicates that the model performs significantly well in replicating topological metrics such as average path length, clustering coefficient, and average degree. For instance, in OOR and SOR graphs, the clustering coefficients reached values of 0.9 and 0.7 respectively, and in the CLOR graph, the average path length was limited to 2.4. Furthermore, in the POR graph, the average degree was consistently maintained at a stable value of 120. A comparison between the proposed model and traditional models such as Erdős–Rényi (ER) and Barabási–Albert (BA) graphs reveals that the use of advanced random graphs alongside the integration of additional trust-related features significantly enhances the accuracy, flexibility, and analytical capability of SIoT network behavior. In addition, the application of gradient descent-based optimization algorithms for fine-tuning model parameters ensures the efficiency and structural balance of the model, thereby positioning it as an effective and scalable solution for the analysis and development of Social Internet of Things networks.

This study, by reexamining the philosophy of qisas al-nafs in Imami jurisprudence and Iranian criminal law, demonstrates that qisas, contrary to revengeful and violent interpretations, is a rights-based institution limited by the principle of equivalence. Its objective is to restore the disturbed moral and social balance through a proportionate response to intentional homicide, to restrain the cycle of blood vengeance, and to consolidate collective security, rather than to merely eliminate the offender physically. Within this framework, qisas functions as a right that can be claimed, forgiven, or converted by the victim’s next of kin, and it is carried out through judicial procedures under the supervision of a judge and within the bounds of human dignity—including prohibitions against mutilation, excessive harm, and the obligation to act benevolently in execution—so that both the deterrent principle and the dignity of even the offender are preserved. The study further shows that this intrinsic logic of qisas, in light of the maqasid al-shari‘ah (objectives of Islamic law) and the rule of preserving life (hifz al-nafs) and maintaining public order, tends toward limiting the scope of harsh punishments and preferring restorative and life-affirming alternatives. This interpretation aligns with the Qur’anic principle “and for you in retribution there is life” (wa lakum fi al-qisasi hayatun), such that “life” is understood not only as the deterrence of future killings but also as the creation of actual possibilities for life for others. The third and fourth discussions explore the feasibility of an alternative model in which the victim’s heirs, instead of demanding the traditional implementation of qisas al-nafs, may—by virtue of their rights to reconciliation and waiver, and under conditions of the convict’s informed and non-coerced consent, with judicial and medical oversight—choose to convert their right into a mechanism for organ donation, thereby saving the lives of patients on the verge of death. This is contingent upon safeguarding the dignity of the condemned person throughout and after the process, prohibiting any form of coercion or humiliation, ensuring the separation of the jurisdictions of the execution judge and the medical ethics committee, and institutionally guaranteeing the jurisprudential legitimacy of exercising or waiving the right. The conclusion drawn is that qisas can transcend the mere logic of terminating the offender’s life and evolve into a dignity-centered mechanism of justice that is simultaneously deterrent and life-giving for society as a whole.

The present study aimed to examine the mediating role of mindfulness in the relationship between grit and lifelong learning among middle-aged adults. The research method was descriptive, and the design was correlational using structural equation modeling. The statistical population included all middle-aged employees working in the Islamshahr district of Tehran, among whom 527 individuals were selected through random sampling. Participants completed the Grit Scale, the Mindfulness Questionnaire, and the Lifelong Learning Scale. The reliability and validity of the instruments were confirmed using Cronbach’s alpha coefficients and confirmatory factor analysis. Data were analyzed through the structural equation modeling method using AMOS software. The results showed that the direct effect of grit on mindfulness and lifelong learning in middle-aged adults was positive and significant. Mindfulness also had a positive and significant direct effect on lifelong learning. Furthermore, mindfulness played a positive and significant mediating role in the effect of self-balance on lifelong learning among middle-aged adults. Therefore, it can be concluded that grit, through the mediation of mindfulness, influences lifelong learning and contributes to the improvement of lifelong learning among middle-aged adults.