For its Universal Periodic Review in 2019 the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran
reported that it held “Human rights training for judges, judicial officers and administrative staff
on the rights of the child, the rights of persons with disabilities, the prohibition of torture and illtreatment and the confronting against domestic violence” as well as “training courses on
citizenship rights for judges, staff and judicial officers”.15 However, frequent reports of
violations of fair trial rights and due process standards suggest that these trainings for the
members of the judiciary in the Islamic Republic of Iran are not appropriate nor sufficient.16
In 2014, President Rouhani reportedly stated that “a lawyer should be immune from any
prosecution for carrying out its professional duty, and the investigative authority for the lawyers’
professional issues is the Bar Association”. 17 Yet, lawyers have been reportedly prosecuted for
representing prisoners of conscience or political and “security” prisoners.18 Human rights
lawyers defending human rights defenders have been reportedly harassed, arrested and detained
in the Islamic Republic of Iran.19 20 21 22
The appointment of judges in Iran is not transparent or based on merit. Judges, as well as
lawyers, their families and professional associates have not been protected against all forms of
violence, threat, retaliation, intimidation and harassment as a result of discharging their
functions.
B. A self-regulating independent bar association or council should be urgently
established to oversee the process of admitting candidates to the legal profession,
provide for a uniform code of ethics and conduct, and enforce disciplinary
measures, including disbarment.
The 1955 Law for the Independence of Lawyers established the independence of the Bar
Association and granted lawyers with immunity from prosecution for their work.23 24 However,
15
National Report, Islamic Republic of Iran, UPR, 2019, https://undocs.org/A/HRC/WG.6/34/IRN/1
See more: Joint submission to the Human Rights Committee from the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, Iran Human Rights
Document Center, Impact Iran and Human Rights Activists in Iran, 2020,
https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CCPR/Shared%20Documents/IRN/INT_CCPR_ICS_IRN_42313_E.pdf
17
Lawyers for lawyers, https://lawyersforlawyers.org/wp-content/uploads/Oral-statement-Iran-L4L-LRWC-19-3-2015.pdf;
Meeting the members of the board of Directors of Bar Associations, February 2014) See:
http://www.rouhani.ir/event.php?event_id=310
18
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, May 2015,
https://undocs.org/A/HRC/28/70
19
OHCHR News, https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24333&LangID=E
20
Center for Human Rights in Iran, https://iranhumanrights.org/2020/06/list-of-attorneys-imprisoned-in-iran-for-defendinghuman-rights/
21
Human Rights Watch, https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/12/13/iran-escalating-crackdown-lawyers
22
See more: Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, https://www.iranrights.org/newsletter/issue/97
23
Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, https://www.iranrights.org/newsletter/issue/97
24
Parliament of the Islamic Republic of Iran < https://rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/94754 >
16
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