These discriminatory and vague criteria enable the appointment of judges based on their political
loyalty and undermine the independence and impartiality of the judiciary.
The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran did not reform the judicial system with a view
of ensuring its independence.
B. 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
The selection process of judges in Iran, as described above, impacts the judicial process and
undermines the legal principle of due process. In 2014, a Judiciary’s circular listed the most
common complaints against judges, including numerous due process violations.9 These included
unlawful arrests, failure to renew temporary detention orders within the prescribed time, failure
to render decisions within the prescribed time, ruling prior to the conclusion of investigation and
trial phase, issuing decisions in courts of original jurisdiction without convening a trial session,
issuance of “unfounded and undocumented” rulings, issuing rulings outside the scope of the
complaint, and unpleasant, inappropriate, and insulting conduct.10 There is little transparency
regarding these complaints and their outcome, additionally there is no readily available
information to indicate that they are considered. During the Iranian year 1395 (March 20, 2016 –
March 19, 2017), Iran’s General Inspection office received 30,315 complaints. The office sent
3,464 emails to those who had filed complaints and wrote follow-ups of local and provincial
investigations, which amounted to 1,502.11
Fair trial and due process violations are particularly grave in Iran in light of the strikingly high
numbers of executions conducted by the State. At least 6,566 executions have been reportedly
conducted in Iran between the beginning of 2008 and the end of 2019.12
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”.13
9
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
10
Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, https://www.iranrights.org/library/document/2994
11
Ministry of Justice 2017 report on the accomplishments of the Judiciary in the year
1395. https://www.justice.ir/FileSystem/View/File.aspx?FileId=5282d9cd-913e-4c78-b3d8-b39475070de2
12
ECPM, Iran Human Rights, https://www.ecpm.org/wp-content/uploads/Rapport-iran-2020-gb-070420-WEB.pdf
13
National Report, Islamic Republic of Iran, UPR, 2019, https://undocs.org/A/HRC/WG.6/34/IRN/1
2