Baha’is.12 Additionally, recent reported cases of unjustifiably lengthy pretrial detentions
before revolutionary courts may well have amounted to arbitrary detention. 13 14 15 16
The Special Court for the Clergy were established by a directive from then Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979 and do not have basis in the Constitution. These courts operate
directly under the control of the Supreme Leader, outside of the framework of the judiciary.
The Supreme Leader appoints the head judge of the first branch of the Special Court for the
Clergy, while other judges shall be appointed according to the Supreme Leader’s opinion. The
Supreme Leader also appoints the Special Clerical Attorney, the Special Prosecutor for the
clerics as well as the staff of the Prosecution’s office.17 The special courts for the clergy have
jurisdiction over offences committed by clerics and acts considered ‘contrary to the clergy’s
dignity’.18 The secrecy under which trials before these courts are held make it difficult to
assess the legality and compliance with international standards of its uncodified judicial
process. 19 20 Additionally, Article 42 of the Code of Procedure for the Special Court for the
Clergy21 stipulates “On exceptional subjects, and subjects for which Shari’a and Iranian law
have not specified punishments, the judge can issue a sentence based on his own viewpoint,
within reason.” 22 Consequently, the absence of legal substantive grounds for the existence of
the special courts grant judge with wide interpretative powers, already significant due to the
general lack of clarity and precision of offences provided under Iranian law.23 Such extensive
discretion undermines the legality of judges’ decisions and legal certainty. Further, the
existence of special courts for the clergy is inconsistent with Article 20 of the Constitution of
the Islamic Republic of Iran, which stipulates that all citizens of the Islamic Republic of Iran
“equally enjoy the protection of the law”,24 and therefore should also enjoy the equal
protection of the system of justice.
The Article 90 Commission of the Parliament is in charge of investigating complaints from
citizens made against the operations of the Parliament itself, the executive and the judiciary.25
There is no readily available information on data relating to the number of complaints
12
EN-HRANA, https://www.en-hrana.org/?s=revolutionary+court
Omid memorial case of Ahmad Nasiri, Abdorrahman Boroumand Center (https://www.iranrights.org/memorial/story/8023/ahmad-nasiri)
14
Letter of Zahedan Prison inmates, May 13, 2019, Abdorrahman Boroumand Center
(https://www.iranrights.org/library/document/3577)
15
EN-HRANA, https://www.en-hrana.org/case-ahmadinejads-former-vp-sent-revolutionarycourt?hilite=%27revolutionary%27%2C%27court%27
16
See more: Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, https://www.iranrights.org/newsletter/issue/61
17
En-HRANA, https://www.en-hrana.org/four-decades-special-court-clerics-specialreport?hilite=%27special%27%2C%27court%27
18
Article 13 bylaw of the Special Courts for the Clergy, en-HRANA, https://www.en-hrana.org/four-decades-special-courtclerics-special-report?hilite=%27special%27%2C%27court%27
19
See more: en-HRANA, https://www.en-hrana.org/four-decades-special-court-clerics-specialreport?hilite=%27special%27%2C%27court%27
20
See more: Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, https://iranhrdc.org/special-court-for-the-clergy-raison-detredevelopment-structure-and-function/
21
The Procedure Code for the Special Court for the Clergy, 5 August 1990, available at www.vekalatonline.ir/laws/11456/
22
Amnesty International, https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1327082016ENGLISH.PDF
23
See more: Amnesty International, https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1327082016ENGLISH.PDF
24
Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, English translation, https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b56710.html
25
Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, https://iranhrdc.org/internal-regulation-on-the-commission-of-article-90-of-theconstitution/
13
3