Law Enforcement and the Judiciary in Postrevolutionary Iran

doi:10.1017/9781108630603.006

6 - Law Enforcement and the Judiciary in Postrevolutionary Iran

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 April 2025

Saeid Golkar

Edited by

Hadi Enayat and

Mirjam Künkler

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Hadi Enayat: Affiliation:
Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilizations, Aga Khan University
Mirjam Künkler: Affiliation:
Institute for Advanced Legal Study

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Summary

This chapter focuses on the police and other law enforcement agencies. Mapping their transformation since the 1979 Revolution, it highlights the tensions and overlapping jurisdictions between different law enforcement agencies and units, arguing that their security mission has expanded alongside their disciplinary and religious morality mission, especially since the disputed 2009 elections. To maintain order, the Islamic Republic has taken several measures, such as the expansion of law enforcement units, the establishment of several special forces for crowd control and anti-riot missions, and heavy investment in the training and equipment of these forces. The police force has also dramatically intensified its ideological programs for the indoctrination of its members and has made changes to recruitment by shifting focus toward more conservative parts of society. Despite some attempts at reform, Iran’s various police forces are not consistently subject to the rule of law, nor are they accountable to elected institutions.

Keywords

police military security services FARAJA law enforcement disciplinary force revolutionary courts volunteer policing moral policing Basij

Type: Chapter
Information: The Rule of Law in the Islamic Republic of Iran
Power, Institutions, and the Limits of Reform
, pp. 159 - 186

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108630603.006 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2025

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