has explicitly stipulated: “[A] public prosecutor cannot be considered as an officer exercising judicial power under paragraph 3 [of Article 9 of the ICCPR].”25 Under the Iranian Code of Criminal procedure, it is the same entity which, in the first instance, issues detention orders, approves them and respond to their appeals, namely the Office of the Prosecutor. Consequently, the Iranian legal framework is inconsistent with international standards. Failure to bring promptly a detainee before an impartial and independent judicial prevents accused individuals from challenging the lawfulness of their detention. There are reports of individuals being kept in pre-trial detention for a disproportionate amount of time before being notified of their charges and before being brought before a judge.26 27 28 29 30 C. Right to a fair trial: right to be tried in public The right to open hearings is protected under Article 165 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran.31 However this guarantee is limited if, notably, “the court determines that an open trial would be detrimental to public morality or discipline”. The revised Criminal Code of Procedure also guarantees the right to public hearings with limitations including or crimes against morality and decency or when a public hearing would disturb “public safety” or “religious or ethnic sentiment”.32 However, such vague and broadly defined circumstances leave the judges with great discretion as to decide whether to hold trials in camera. It is not possible to accurately ascertain the number of hearings open to the general public, as this information has not been made public by Iranian authorities. However, cases related to civil and political issues have reportedly been held behind closed doors, with no open access to the case details and to the hearings by outside personnel.33 D. The State party should consider the abolition of the Revolutionary courts 25 https://www.refworld.org/docid/553e0f984.html UNPO <https://unpo.org/article/21430> 27 Human Rights Watch, https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/03/13/iran-submission-committee-rights-child 28 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, July 2020, https://undocs.org/A/75/213 29 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, September 2019, https://undocs.org/en/A/HRC/37/24 30 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, January 2019, https://undocs.org/en/A/HRC/40/67 31 Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran < http://www.iranchamber.com/government/laws/constitution_ch11.php> 32 Article 352, Code of Criminal Procedure (2015) as referenced by Amnesty International < https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1327082016ENGLISH.PDF> 33 HRANA <https://www.en-hrana.org/ahmad-montazeris-court-session-held-behind-closed-doors> 26 4