The Guardian Council, (also called Council of Guardians or Constitutional Council, fa, شورای نگهبان, Shourā-ye Negahbān) is an appointed and constitutionally mandated 12-member council that wields considerable power and influence in the
Islamic Republic of Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
.
The constitution of the Islamic Republic gives the council three mandates:
:a) veto power over legislation passed by the parliament (Majles);
:b) supervision of elections;
and
:c) approving or disqualifying candidates seeking to run in local, parliamentary, presidential, or Assembly of Experts elections.
The Iranian constitution calls for the council to be composed of six Islamic
faqihs (experts in Islamic Law), "conscious of the present needs and the issues of the day" to be selected by the
Supreme Leader of Iran
The Supreme Leader of Iran ( fa, رهبر ایران, rahbar-e irān) is the List of heads of state of Iran, head of state of the Iran, Islamic Republic of Iran. The Supreme Leader directs the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, executiv ...
, and six jurists, "specializing in different areas of law, to be elected by the
Majlis (the Iranian Parliament) from among the Muslim jurists nominated by the
Chief Justice", (who, in turn, is also appointed by the Supreme Leader).
The Council has played a central role in controlling the interpretation of Islamic values in Iranian law in the following ways:
*As part of its vetting of potential candidates to determine who can and cannot run for national office, it has disqualified reform-minded candidates—including the most well-known candidates—from running for office;
*
Veto
A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto ...
es laws passed by the popularly elected Majlis.
[Iran: Voices Struggling To Be Heard]
U.S. Department of State Fact Sheet, April 9, 2004. Retrieved September 22, 2008.
*Has increased the influence that the
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC; fa, سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی, Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enghelāb-e Eslāmi, lit=Army of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution also Sepāh or Pasdaran for short) is a branch o ...
(an ideological fighting force separate from the
Iranian army
The Islamic Republic of Iran Army Ground Forces ( fa, نیروی زمینی ارتش جمهوری اسلامی ایران, ''Niroo-ye Zamini-ye Artesh-e Jomhuri-ye Eslâmi-ye Iran''), acronymed NEZAJA ( fa, نزاجا, NEZEJA) are the ground forc ...
) has on the economic and cultural life of the country.
When the 2009 presidential election was announced, popular former president
Mohammad Khatami would not discuss his plans to run against
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ( fa, محمود احمدینژاد, Mahmūd Ahmadīnežād ), born Mahmoud Sabbaghian ( fa, محمود صباغیان, Mahmoud Sabbāghyān, 28 October 1956), , for the Council might have disqualified Khatami as it had other reformists' candidatures, on the grounds that they were not dedicated enough to Islamic values.
[Khatami reluctant to discuss candidacy]
, Maryam Sinaiee, '' The National'', September 21, 2008.[Split hard-liners hold Iran parliament]
AP via ''USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'', March 16, 2008.
There have also been instances where the Constitutional Council reversed its ban on particular people after being ordered to do so by Khamenei.
Legislative functions
The Majlis has no legal status without the Constitutional Council.
Any bill passed by the
Majlis must be reviewed and approved by the Constitutional Council
to become law.
According to Article 96 of the constitution, the Constitutional Council holds absolute veto power over all legislation approved by the Majlis. It can nullify a law based on two accounts: being against Islamic laws, or being against the
constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When ...
. While all the members vote on the laws being compatible with the constitution, only the six clerics vote on them being compatible with Islam.
If any law is rejected, it will be passed back to the Majlis for correction. If the Majlis and the Council of Guardians cannot agree on a case, it is passed up to the
Expediency Council
The Expediency Discernment Council of the System ( fa, مجمع تشخیص مصلحت نظام ''Majma'-e Taškhīs-e Maslahat-e Nezām'') is an administrative assembly appointed by the Supreme Leader and was created upon the revision to the C ...
for a decision.
The Constitutional Council is uniquely involved in the legislative process, with equal oversight with regards to economic law and social policy, including such controversial topics as
abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
. Chapter 6 of the Constitution explains its interworkings with the Islamic Consultative Assembly. Articles 91-97 all fall into the legislative Chapter 6.
Judicial authority
The Council of Guardians also functions similar to a
constitutional court
A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...
. The authority to interpret the constitution is vested in the Council. Interpretative decisions require a three-quarters majority. The Council does not conduct a court hearing where opposing sides are argued.
Electoral authority
Since 1991, all candidates of parliamentary or presidential elections, as well as candidates for the Assembly of Experts, have to be qualified by the Constitutional Council in order to run in the election. For major elections, it typically disqualifies most candidates, as seen in the 2009 election, where out of the 476 men and women applied to the Constitutional Council to seek the presidency, only four were approved.
The Council is accorded "supervision of elections". The Constitutional Council interprets the term ''supervision'' in Article 99 of the
Iranian Constitution
The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran ( fa, قانون اساسی جمهوری اسلامی ایران, ''Qanun-e Asasi-ye Jomhuri-ye Eslâmi-ye Iran'') was adopted by referendum on 2 and 3 December 1979, and went into force replac ...
as "approbation supervision" ( fa, نظارت استصوابی, ''naẓārat-e istiṣwābī'') which implies the right to accept or reject the legality of elections and the competency of candidates. This interpretation is in contrast with the idea of "notification supervision" ( fa, نظارت استطلاعی, ''naẓārat-e istitlā‘ī'') which does not imply the mentioned approval right. The "evidentiary supervision" ( fa, نظارت استنادی, ''naẓārat-e istinādī''), which requires evidences for acceptance or rejection of elections legality and candidates competency, is another interpretation of mentioned article.
Role in the 2009 elections
On Monday June 29, 2009, the Constitutional Council certified the results of the
controversial election in which President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ( fa, محمود احمدینژاد, Mahmūd Ahmadīnežād ), born Mahmoud Sabbaghian ( fa, محمود صباغیان, Mahmoud Sabbāghyān, 28 October 1956), was elected.
The Council had completed a recount of 10 percent of the overall votes in order to appease the citizens of Iran.
[ ] As the "final authority on the election", the Council has declared the election closed.
[ ] The certification of the results set off a wave of protests, disregarding the Iranian government's ban on street marches.
Criticism
Increases the role of the IRGC in everyday politics
The Council favors military candidates at the expense of reform candidates. This ensures that the ideological
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC; fa, سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی, Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enghelāb-e Eslāmi, lit=Army of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution also Sepāh or Pasdaran for short) is a branch o ...
(separate from the Iranian army) holds a
commanding influence over the political, economic, and cultural life of Iran.
[The Revolutionary Guards' Role in Iranian Politics](_blank)
, Ali Alfoneh, ''Middle East Quarterly
The Middle East Forum (MEF) is an American conservative think tank founded in 1990 by Daniel Pipes, who serves as its president. MEF became an independent non-profit organization in 1994. It publishes a journal, the '' Middle East Quarterly''.
...
'', Fall 2008; accessed via AEI's website on September 22, 2008.
Arbitrary disqualifications of candidates from elections
Hadi Khamenei
Sayyid Hadi Khamenei ( fa, سید هادی خامنهای; born 26 January 1948) is an Iranian reformist politician, mujtahid and linguist.(14 February 1999Reformist Kin of Iran Leader is Attacked by Militants''The New York Times'' He is a key ...
, the brother of Supreme Leader
Ali Khamenei
Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei ( fa, سید علی حسینی خامنهای, ; born 19 April 1939) is a Twelver Shia ''marja and the second and current Supreme Leader of Iran, in office since 1989. He was previously the third president o ...
and an adviser in the administration of reformist former President Mohammad Khatami, has said the Constitutional Council's vetting of candidates threatens Iranian democracy. He believes some reformist candidates are wrongly kept from running.
In 1998, the Constitutional Council rejected
Hadi Khamenei
Sayyid Hadi Khamenei ( fa, سید هادی خامنهای; born 26 January 1948) is an Iranian reformist politician, mujtahid and linguist.(14 February 1999Reformist Kin of Iran Leader is Attacked by Militants''The New York Times'' He is a key ...
's candidacy for a seat in the
Assembly of Experts
The Assembly of Experts ( fa, مجلس خبرگان رهبری, majles-e khobregân-e rahbari), also translated as the Assembly of Experts of the Leadership or as the Council of Experts, is the deliberative body empowered to appoint the Supreme ...
for "insufficient theological qualifications".
After conservative candidates fared poorly in the 2000 parliamentary elections, the Council disqualified more than 3,600 reformist and independent candidates for the 2004 elections.
In the run-up to the
2006 Iranian Assembly of Experts election, all female candidates were disqualified.
[The Iranian Regime: Human Rights and Civil Liberties Under Siege]
U.S. State Department Fact Sheet, April 18, 2007. Retrieved September 23, 2008.
The Council disqualified many candidates in the 2008 parliamentary elections. One third of them were members of the outgoing parliament it had previously approved.
[ The Iranian Ministry of the Interior reasons for disqualification included narcotics addiction or involvement in drug-smuggling, connections to the Shah's pre-revolutionary government, lack of belief in or insufficient practice of Islam, being "against" the Islamic Republic, or having connections to foreign intelligence services.]
Rule by unelected leaders
This unelected Council frequently vetoes bills passed by the popularly elected legislature.[ It repeatedly vetoes bills that are in favour of women’s rights, electoral reform, the prohibition of torture and ratification of international human rights treaties.][
]
Rigging results after elections in favor of conservatives
The Guardian Council has been criticized for ousting pro-Reform candidates who had won their elections, without providing legal justification or factual evidence. Examples of such interventions by the Guardian Council are:
* Annulment of the results in Khoy
Khoy (Persian and az, خوی; ; ; also Romanized as Khoi), is a city and capital of Khoy County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. At the 2012 census, its population was 200,985.
Khoy is located north of the province's capital and largest city ...
and Eslamabad-e Gharb
Eslamabad-e Gharb ( fa, اسلامآباد غرب; also Romanized as Eslāmābād-e Gharb; also known as Eslāmābād, Shāhābād, and Shāhābād-e Gharb), is a city and capital of Eslamabad-e Gharb County, Kermanshah Province, Iran. At the ...
(2000).
* Rahman Kargosha Rahman Kargosha ( fa, رحمان کارگشا) is an Iranian nationalist-religious political activist.
Political career 2000 election
Kargosha ran for the 2000 Iranian legislative election in the constituency encompassing Arak. He went to the ...
(2000, Arak), certain ballots were voided in order to declare the conservative incumbent as the winner.
* Alireza Rajaei (2000, Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
), certain ballots were voided in order to declare the conservative incumbent as the winner.
* Minoo Khaleghi
Minoo Khaleghi ( fa, مینو خالقی) is an Iranian jurist and reformist activist. In the 2016 parliamentary elections, Khaleghi won a seat, however she was disqualified by the Guardian Council after the election.
Background
Khaleghi was ...
(2016, Isfahan
Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...
), disqualified after winning the election.
* Khaled Zamzamnejad (2016, Bandar Lengeh
Bandar Lengeh ( fa, بندرلنگه, also Romanized as Bandar-e Lengeh, Bandar-e-Langeh and Bandar Langeh; also known simply as Lengeh, Linja, Linjah or Lingah) is a harbour city and capital of Bandar Lengeh County, in Hormozgan province of ...
), election annulled.
* Beytollah Abdollahi (2016, Ahar and Heris), election annulled.
Composition
The Council is composed of Islamic clerics and lawyers. Membership is for phased six-year terms: half the membership changes every three years.
The Supreme Leader (Iran's Head of State
A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...
) directly appoints the six clerics,[Article 91](_blank)
and may dismiss them at will. The head of the judicial system of Iran nominates six lawyers for confirmation by the Majlis.
On March 13, 2021, the Iranian Constitutional Council officially launched its English service.The English website was inaugurated during the regular monthly press briefing of the spokesman of the Constitutional Council, Abbas-Ali Kadkhodaei, in Tehran. The website, https://www.shora-gc.ir/en, has five main sections: News, Multimedia, Members, Legislation, and the Constitution.
Membership
Current members
Historic membership
See also
*History of political Islam in Iran
The history of Islamic fundamentalism in Iran covers the historical development of Islamic fundamentalism, Islamism, Islamic revivalism, and the rise of political Islam in modern Iran. Today, there are basically three types of Islam in Iran: t ...
References
External links
The official website of the ConstitutionalCouncil
Photos of members from official website
{{coord, 35, 41, 16.36, N, 51, 24, 4.35, E, display=title
Government of Iran
Law of Iran
Constitutional courts
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
Sharia in Iran
Legislature of Iran
Politics of Iran
Revolutionary institutions of the Islamic Republic of Iran