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RFL/RE – Lawyers in several Iranian provinces have staged demonstrations against recent decisions made by the Islamic Consultative Assembly that they say go against the country’s judicial foundation.
At a gathering outside their respective bar association buildings on August 24, the lawyers said a parliamentary resolution obliging them to adhere to the directives of the Economic Ministry’s Regulatory Board without being able to challenge the changes via the Administrative Justice Court is “inconsistent with the nation’s fundamental rights and an infringement on the Bar Association’s autonomy.”
The resolution “breaches the principle of separation of powers and is at odds with the overarching judicial policies of the nation,” the bar associations said, adding an appeal has been launched with the Guardians Council to overturn the decision.
According to official statements from the Iranian Bar Association, the lawyers also have urged senior figures from the three branches of government and the Supreme Supervisory Board of the Expediency Discernment Council to address the “unconstitutional and unlawful elements of the resolution.”
A petition supporting the bar associations has gathered more than 19,000 signatures in under 48 hours.
Ali Pezeshki, the Zanjan Bar Association’s leader, pointed out that the parliamentary assembly’s reconciliation commission has shifted the power to issue, renew, and revoke advocacy licenses from the associations to the Economic Ministry.
The Bar Association, Iran’s oldest legal body, has faced persistent pressure from both governmental agencies and the judiciary over the past four decades. Its autonomy and powers have been steadily eroded by a series of legislative measures.
Since the unrest following Mahsa Amini’s death last September, at least 129 lawyers have faced “judicial encounters,” according to the group Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA). This includes both arrests and summonses for a variety of reasons, ranging from practicing their profession to expressing views on social media.
The HRA said that 55 lawyers have been arrested, 70 have been summoned, and numerous others have faced judicial and security confrontations since the protests began. However, the recent wave of summoning lawyers to sign a “commitment” and express regret for the protests suggests an escalation in the crackdown on the legal profession.
The Islamic republic’s judiciary has been restricting access to protester cases, often only accepting representation from lawyers approved by the head of the judiciary. However, independent lawyers have sometimes managed to overturn heavy sentences, such as the death penalty, during the appeal stage.
