Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran
A/72/322 para 112
Full recommendation
In order to improve the human rights record in the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Government will
have to reform the judicial system with a view to ensuring its independence. Appropriate training
for the members of the judiciary is also necessary to ensure that guarantees of a fair trial and
due process are effectively respected.
Assessment using Impact Iran human rights indicators1
A. The Government will have to reform the judicial system with a view to ensuring its
independence
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 who can dismiss him at any
point in time.3 No other organ or institution is involved in this 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 judicial system is not independent from the
Iranian government.
The 1982 Law for the Selection of Judges with its subsequent amendments, as well as the 2013
Guidelines for the Recruitment, Selection, and Apprenticeship of Applicants for Judgeship and
Employment of Judges, 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 by 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
1
CCPR.14.1.S.2; CCPR.9.3.S.2; CCPR.9.1.S.3; CCPR.14.1.P.3; CCPR.9.5.P.2; CCPR.14.1.O.5; CCPR.14.1.O.6;
CCPR.14.1.O.8; CCPR.9.2.O.4
2
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
1