Concluding Observations Human Rights Committee CCPR/C/IRN/CO/3 para 21 Full recommendation: The State party should ensure that all legal proceedings are conducted in full accordance with article 14 of the Covenant, including guaranteeing (a) the right to legal assistance of one’s own choosing, including for pretrial detainees; (b) the right to be informed promptly of the nature and cause of the criminal charges; (c) the intervention and presence of lawyers in all cases, including during the investigation stage; (d) the presumption of innocence; (e) the right to a public hearing; and (f) the right to appeal a ruling. The State party should remove the mahdoorol-dam (deserving of death) definition, applied to victims, so as to ensure that perpetrators are prosecuted and brought to justice for their crimes. The Committee reminds the State party of its general comment No. 32 (2007) on the right to equality before courts and tribunals and to a fair trial. Assessment using Impact Iran human rights indicators1 A. Ensuring that all legal proceedings are conducted in full accordance with article 14 of the Covenant 1. The right to legal assistance of one’s own choosing, including for pretrial detainees; The guarantee of to the right to legal defense is enshrined in Article 35 of the Constitution which ensures the right to choose a lawyer.2 Article 190 of the revised Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP) protects the right of a suspect to “be accompanied by a lawyer during the preliminary investigations”. Article 48 of the CCP permits the accused to “demand the presence of a lawyer from the start of detention.”3 4 However, a Note to Article 48 of the 2015 CCP,5 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 1 CCPR.14.1.S.3; CCPR.14.2.S.1; CCPR.14.3.S.3; CCPR.14.3.S.4; CCPR.14.1.P.5; CCPR.14.2.P.1; CCPR.14.3.P.2; . CCPR.14.3.P.3; CCPR.9.2.O.2; CCPR.14.1.O.10; CCPR.14.2.O.2.CCPR.14.3.O.3; CCPR.14.3.O.5 2 Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran < http://www.iranchamber.com/government/laws/constitution_ch03.php> 3 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 4 Code of Criminal Procedure of the Islamic Republic of Iran (2015) original version http://dotic.ir/print/5584 5 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 1

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