Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran
A/72/322 para 113
Full recommendation:
The Special Rapporteur reiterates her call on the Government to uphold the integrity of judges,
prosecutors and lawyers, notably by ensuring that appointments of judges are transparent and
based on merit and by protecting them, their families and their professional associates against
all forms of violence, threats, retaliation, intimidation and harassment as a result of discharging
their functions.
Assessment using Impact Iran human rights indicators 1
According to the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the head of the judicial system in
Iran (the Chief Justice) is directly appointed by the Supreme Leader2 and can be dismissed by
him at any point in time.3 No other organ or institution is involved in the process.4 The Chief
Justice is in charge of selecting high-ranking judicial officials including the Head of the Supreme
Court and the country’s Prosecutor General.5 As a result, the judiciary is not independent from
the government in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The Law for the Selection of Judges of 1982 with its subsequent amendments, as well as the
Guidelines for the Recruitment, Selection, and Apprenticeship of Applicants for Judgeship and
Employment of Judges of 2013, are the main norms regulating the selection of judges.
Mandatory criteria for selecting judges in Iran include the following: the appointed judge has to
be a Muslim man, who is “bound to faith” and is “loyal to the principle of the primary of the
Supreme Leader”.6 Field investigations and ideological and political interviews are part of the
selection process.7 8 These discriminatory and vague criteria enable judges to be appointed based
on their political loyalty, thus undermining the independence and impartiality of the judiciary.
1
CCPR.14.1.S.2; CCPR.14.1.P.3; CCPR.14.1.O.5; CCPR.14.1.O.6; CCPR.14.1.O.8:
Article 157 Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran <
http://www.iranchamber.com/government/laws/constitution_ch11.php>
3
Article 110 Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran <
http://www.iranchamber.com/government/laws/constitution_ch08.php>
4
Joint submission to the Human Rights Committee from the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, Iran Human Rights
Documentation Center, Impact Iran, Human Rights Activists in Iran, 2020,
https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CCPR/Shared%20Documents/IRN/INT_CCPR_ICS_IRN_42313_E.pdf
5
See Articles 158 to 162 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran
http://www.iranchamber.com/government/laws/constitution_ch11.php
6
Article 13 Guidelines for the Recruitment, Selection, and Apprenticeship of Applicants for Judgeship and Employment of
Judges (2013).
7
Article 14 Guidelines for the Recruitment, Selection, and Apprenticeship of Applicants for Judgeship and Employment of
Judges (2013)
8
http://rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/90547 ; http://rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/91044
2
1