An Overview on the
Legislation Process in
Iran
Navid Sato
LL.M.
NYU School of Law
Summary
► History
of Parliament (Majles) in Iran
► The Structure of Power in Iran
► Relationship of Sharia and Law in the
Constitution
► Legislation Process in Iran
► Outlines of Important Codes
Issues in regard to Iranian Legal
System
► What
is the law of Iran? Is it Sharia or
Is it translation of French code?
► What was the legislation process in
Iran before the revolution?
► What is the complex structure of
Iranian government?
► What is the legislation process in Iran?
History of Parliament in Iran
► Constitutional
Revolution
Mozaffar o-Din Shah Qajar
The foundations of the first
constitution of constitutionalism
►
►
►
►
The decree of Mozaffar o-Din Shāh on
August 5, 1906
The Constitution drafted by a commission
including selected members of the first
Majles and the King, on November 30,
1906 and its amendments
The 1907 Supplement of the Constitution
enacted by the member of the Majles.
The election law dated November 4, 1911.
First Term (October 7th, 1906 – June 23rd,
1908)
Mohammad Ali Shāh
The Bahārestān (House of Majles) after bombardment
► The
last session of the Majles before the
revolution, during its twenty-first round,
was held on March 7, 1979
The Amendments of the 1906
Constitution
► Collapse
of Qājār’s reign and revision of the
Constitution in 1925
► Revision of the Constitution in 1949 which
on the basis of that Shah could dissolve the
Majles and also Senate in practice as an
upper house established.
The Structure of Power in
Iran
An Overview on the Legislation Process in Iran - Navid Sato
PRESIDENT
The president is the second highest ranking official in Iran
► is responsible for setting the country's economic policies
determined by the Supreme Leader
► has nominal rule over the Supreme National Security
Council and the Ministry of Intelligence and Security
► 8 vice presidents serve under the president, as well as a
cabinet of 22 ministers
► is obliged to sign legislation approved by the Assembly or
the result of a referendum, after the (related) legal
procedures have been completed and it has been
communicated to him. After signing, he must forward it to
the responsible authorities for implementation.
►
SUPREME LEADER
(Article 110)
is responsible for the delineation and supervision of "the
general policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran”
► is commander-in-chief of the armed forces and controls
the Islamic Republic's intelligence and security operations
► can declare war or peace
► has the power to appoint and dismiss the leaders of the
judiciary, the state radio and television networks, and the
supreme commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps
► appoints six of the twelve members of the Council of
Guardians
► Resolving the problems, which cannot be solved by
conventional methods, through the Council of Expediency.
►
ISLAMIC CONSULTATIVE
ASSEMBLY (Majles)
► Legislative
body whose 290 members are
publicly elected every four years (Council of
Guardians closely controls the election of
the Majles)
► It drafts legislation, ratifies international
treaties, and approves the country's budget
► The Parliament is held in check by the
Council of Guardians
Summary of February and May 2004 Majles of Iran election results
Orientation of candidates
Votes
%
Seats
Conservatives/Fundamentalist
156
Reformists
39
Independents
31
Elected in second round
59
Armenians recognized minority religion
2
Chaldean and Assyrian Catholic recognized minority religion
1
Jewish recognized minority religion
1
Zoroastrian recognized minority religion
1
Sufi Muslim/Dervish unrecognized minority religion
0
Total (Turnout around 50 %)
290
COUNCIL OF GUARDIAN
► 12
jurists comprise the Council of Guardian, six of
whom are appointed by the Supreme Leader. The
head of the judiciary recommends the remaining
six, which are officially appointed by the
Parliament
► Authority to interpret the constitution
► It determines if the laws passed by Parliament are
in line with sharia and the Constitution
► It also supervises the candidacy of Presidential,
Parliament, and Assembly of Experts elections
EXPEDIENCY COUNCIL
► the
Expediency Council serves as an
advisory body to the Supreme Leader,
making it one of the most powerful
governing bodies in the country, at least in
name.
► The
Supreme Leader appoints the 34
members of the Council
ASSEMBLY OF EXPERTS
►
consists of 86 "virtuous and learned" clerics
elected by the public to eight-year terms.
Like presidential and parliamentary
elections, the Council of Guardian
determines who can run for a seat in the
assembly.
►
it monitors his performance and remove
him if he is deemed incapable of fulfilling his
duties.
JUDICIARY
► The
judiciary branch of Iran's government is
largely controlled by the Supreme Leader
► The judiciary ensures that the Islamic laws
are enforced and defines legal policy
► It also nominates the six lay members of
the Guardian Council
► Public courts
► “Revolutionary" courts
NATIONAL SECURITY AND
INTELLIGENCE
Supreme National Security Council
► Regular Army
► Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
(IRGC)
► Ministry of Intelligence and Security
(MOIS)
►
Relationship between Sharia
and Law in the Constitution
►
►
Article 4
All civil, penal financial, economic, administrative, cultural,
military, political, and other laws and regulations must be
based on Islamic criteria. This principle applies absolutely
and generally to all articles of the Constitution as well as to
all other laws and regulations, and the fuqaha' of the
Council of Guardian are judges in this matter.
Article 93
The Islamic Consultative Assembly does not hold any legal
status if there is no Council of Guardian in existence,
except for the purpose of approving the credentials of its
members and the election of the six jurists on the Guardian
Council.
Article 96
► The
determination of compatibility of the
legislation passed by the Islamic
Consultative Assembly with the laws of
Islam rests with the majority vote of the
fuqaha' on the Guardian Council; and the
determination of its compatibility with the
Constitution rests with the majority of all
the members of the Guardian Council.
Legislation Process in Iran
► The
Right of National Sovereignty and the
Powers Deriving There from (Chapter V)
► Absolute sovereignty over the world and
man belongs to God , and it is He Who has
made man master of his own social destiny.
No one can deprive man of this divine right,
nor subordinate it to the vested interests of
a particular individual or group. The people
are to exercise this divine right in the
manner specified in the following articles
►
Article 57
The powers of government in the Islamic Republic are vested in the
legislature, the judiciary, and the executive powers, functioning under the
supervision of the absolute wilayat al-'amr and the leadership of the
Ummah, in accordance with the forthcoming articles of this Constitution.
These powers are independent of each other.
►
Article 72
The Islamic Consultative Assembly cannot enact laws contrary to the usul
and ahkam of the official religion of the country or to the Constitution. It is
the duty of the Guardian Council to determine whether a violation has
occurred, in accordance with Article 96.
►
Article 96
The determination of compatibility of the legislation passed by the Islamic
Consultative Assembly with the laws of Islam rests with the majority vote of
the fuqaha' on the Guardian Council; and the determination of its
compatibility with the Constitution rests with the majority of all the
members of the Guardian Council.
Websites in Farsi
► http://www.rooznamehrasmi.ir
► http://www.ghavanin.ir/
► http://www.majlis.ir/
► http://www.majma.ir/
► http://www.irisn.com/
Websites in English
► http://www.iran-law.com/
► http://www.parstimes.com/law/Iran_law.ht
ml
► http://www.loc.gov/law/guide/iran.html
► http://www.washlaw.edu/forint/asia/iran.ht
ml
► Please refer to the handout for more
information