procurator (often called an investigative judge) who oversees the investigation phase is also
required to inform the defendant of the right to legal counsel. 12 In cases where the defendant’s
guardians cannot afford a lawyer, a public defender will be appointed by the court. Additionally,
Article 48 of the CCP permits all criminal defendants, including child and juvenile defendants, to
“demand the presence of a lawyer from the start of detention.”13 14 However, a Note to Article 48
of the 2015 CCP,15 specifies that individuals facing charges for certain offences, including those
relating to national security and organized crime, must select their legal counsel from among a
limited list of lawyers approved and announced by the Head of the Judiciary at the phase of
preliminary investigations.16 Such appointment does not guarantee the independence of legal aid
for criminal defendants, including child and juvenile defendants. Further, in May 2019, the
Iranian legal and judicial parliamentary commission proposed an amendment to Article 48 of the
CCP which would allow the prosecution to delay access to a lawyer for 20 days, with possibility
of extension to the whole duration of investigation in cases related to national security, terrorism
of financial corruption.17 18 Such amendment would severely restrict access to legal counsel
during the pre-trial phase, including for child and juvenile defendants.
Although the CCP guarantees the right to free legal assistance for those without adequate
financial resources, the applicability of this right is differentiated between the pre-trial and trial
phases.19 For instance, the CCP does not ensure access to free legal assistance during the
investigation phase in cases where the accused face charges other than those punishable by
severe punishments, such as the death penalty or life imprisonment. As a consequence,
safeguards provided in the Iranian legal framework fall short of protecting the accused’s right to
access legal counsel in the pre-trial phase, including for juveniles.
With regards to the provision of legal aid to defendants, including child defendants, during the
trial phase, the presence of a defence lawyer during a trial is required only for cases in front of
the high criminal court. Under Article 415 of the new Criminal Procedure, which specifically
12
Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 190, https://bit.ly/2T0Sgja
Code of Criminal Procedure of the Islamic Republic of Iran (2015) as referenced in the 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
14
Code of Criminal Procedure of the Islamic Republic of Iran (2015) original version http://dotic.ir/print/5584
15
Code of Criminal Procedure of the Islamic Republic of Iran (2015) as referenced in the 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
16
The former CCP had conditioned the presence of a lawyer at the investigative stage on the permission of the judge in cases
with a “confidential” aspect, cases where the presence of a party other than defendant would “corrupt” proceedings as determined
by the judge, and in national security cases; See the March 17, 2017 report of the UN Special Rapporteur, Asma Jahangir, on fair
trial in Iran (https://undocs.org/en/A/HRC/34/65)
17
Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, https://www.iranrights.org/newsletter/issue/99
18
Amnesty International, www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde13/0379/2019/en/ ;
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/05/iran-proposed-law-restricting-access-to-lawyer-would-be-crushing-blow-forjustice/
19
Amnesty International, https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1327082016ENGLISH.PDF
13
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