Book contents
- The Rule of Law in the Islamic Republic of Iran
- The Rule of Law in the Islamic Republic of Iran
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures, Maps and Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Note on Transliteration
- Chronology
- Abbreviations and Glossary
- 1 Governing the Law in the Islamic Republic of Iran
- 2 The Islamic Penal Code of 2013
- 3 The Administration of Criminal Justice in Iran
- 4 Shiʿi Family Law under the Rule of Law? The Iranian Model and Current Approaches in the Shiʿi World
- 5 Rule of Law or Rule by Law? Iran’s Bar Association as a Pawn in Islamic–Republican Contestations
- 6 Law Enforcement and the Judiciary in Postrevolutionary Iran
- 7 The Problem of Overcrowded Prisons in the Islamic Republic of Iran
- 8 Legal Barriers to Accessing Vital Medical Services and Creative Responses to Overcoming These
- 9 Reform from Within? Hākemiyat-e Qānun from the Reformist Era to 2022
- 10 Iran’s Religious and Ethnic Minorities in the Eyes of the Judiciary and the Security Apparatus
- 11 Labor Rights in Postrevolutionary Iran
- 12 The Effects of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and Subsequent US Withdrawal, on Iranian Law
- 13 Multilayered Mechanisms of Control and Censorship of Arts and Culture in the Islamic Republic of Iran
- 14 The Legal Situation Regarding Assisted Reproduction in Iran
- 15 Conclusions
- Index
- References
3 - The Administration of Criminal Justice in Iran
Ideology, Judicial Personalism, and the Cynical Manipulation of Security
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 April 2025
- The Rule of Law in the Islamic Republic of Iran
- The Rule of Law in the Islamic Republic of Iran
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures, Maps and Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Note on Transliteration
- Chronology
- Abbreviations and Glossary
- 1 Governing the Law in the Islamic Republic of Iran
- 2 The Islamic Penal Code of 2013
- 3 The Administration of Criminal Justice in Iran
- 4 Shiʿi Family Law under the Rule of Law? The Iranian Model and Current Approaches in the Shiʿi World
- 5 Rule of Law or Rule by Law? Iran’s Bar Association as a Pawn in Islamic–Republican Contestations
- 6 Law Enforcement and the Judiciary in Postrevolutionary Iran
- 7 The Problem of Overcrowded Prisons in the Islamic Republic of Iran
- 8 Legal Barriers to Accessing Vital Medical Services and Creative Responses to Overcoming These
- 9 Reform from Within? Hākemiyat-e Qānun from the Reformist Era to 2022
- 10 Iran’s Religious and Ethnic Minorities in the Eyes of the Judiciary and the Security Apparatus
- 11 Labor Rights in Postrevolutionary Iran
- 12 The Effects of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and Subsequent US Withdrawal, on Iranian Law
- 13 Multilayered Mechanisms of Control and Censorship of Arts and Culture in the Islamic Republic of Iran
- 14 The Legal Situation Regarding Assisted Reproduction in Iran
- 15 Conclusions
- Index
- References
Summary
The chapter analyzes the nature and evolution of the administration of criminal justice in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Although current Iranian law incorporates a range of provisions intended to protect the rights of the accused in criminal prosecutions, in practice these provisions are routinely violated. It is argued that the violations of due process in the Islamic Republic of Iran are the result of several factors. First, the criminal justice system has been configured to deal with political opposition as an existential threat to the state, resulting in frequent executive interference in the judicial process and arbitrary trials in revolutionary courts. Second, the structural subordination of the judiciary to the effective power of the Supreme Leader and specific executive agencies has eroded the rule of law. Third, the ideological imperative to Islamize the judicial system after the 1979 Revolution has led to the adoption of judicial procedures that have given judges very wide discretion in the conduct and outcome of cases, notably in criminal law.
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- The Rule of Law in the Islamic Republic of IranPower, Institutions, and the Limits of Reform, pp. 66 - 103Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025