Under Reza Shah's reign as king of Iran, the modern Iranian criminal, judicial, and penitentiary systems were founded. France's Napoleonic Codes were the model for penal codification. In December of 1979, the advent of the Islamic Republic as the new political regime of Iran inaugurated a new era. All laws and regulations became rooted in Islamic rules. Since the late 1970's Iran has attempted to address reform issues on four major levels. Throughout each of these reforms, the clinical/rehabilitative model of intervention has remained the underlying theme; however, due to prison overcrowding and a lack of space, the model has not been fully applied. The procedures of the justice system are inconsistent and inattentive to the rights of defendants. Since the election of President Khatami in 1997, however, Iran has been more open to international influences, including international standards for penal systems. Iranian leaders have shown an interest in international norms for the treatment and punishment of offenders, while still honoring Islamic law. Due to a lack of resources and initiatives by the government, overcrowding and the quality of living conditions in most prisons continues to be a problem. Also, some of the punishments are considered to be torture under international law. 3 tables, 1 figure, Web-links, 27 references, and 11 notes