The Iranian legal system has always been deeply rooted in Islam even prior to the Revolution. Thus, despite post-revolution structural changes that affected other sectors, there were only minor changes in the country's legal system as they pertained to the country's commercial and foreign investment structure and, in effect, have left all prior existing incentives almost intact. By way of example, Iran's Law for the Attraction and Protection of Foreign Investment of 1955 , has been fully enforced since its enactment and was last amended in 1974.

In Islam, religion is not only organically related to politics, but is also integral to the economic structure of an Islamic state. Islam addresses itself to many aspects of economic development - private ownership, taxation, interest, income distribution etc. and specifically advocates factors which are generally regarded as essential to economic progress - private property, profit incentive, hard work and eternal reward for economic success, all within the framework of the Islamic ethical norms set forth in the teachings of the Holy Quran. As a result, the changes that have taken place in Iran's legal system have been primarily in the fields of social and criminal law, particularly the penal system and family law.