Book Reviews

Adineh Abghari, Introduction to the Iranian Legal System and the Protection of Human Rights in . British Institute of International and Comparative , London, 2008, ISBN 9781905221370, 285 pp., GBP 50.00

In 1998, the EU and the Islamic Republic of Iran launched a ‘Comprehensive Dialogue’ in order to foster their collaboration in various areas. In this context, a ‘Human Rights Dialogue’ was offi cially established in 2002. Designed as a platform for legal experts to exchange views on human rights issues, it was meant to enable all parties to deepen their understanding of the protection of human rights at the international level and in Iran.1 In this context, “Introduction to the Iranian Legal System and the Protection of ” was published by the British Institute of International and Comparative Law in the framework of its project “Human Rights in International Law and Iran”. The author, Adineh Abghari, is an Iranian lawyer and was a research fellow in public international law at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law. The book opens with an introduction to the political system of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The three branches – the legislative power, the executive power and the judiciary – are all under the supervision of the Velayat Faqih, the Supreme Leader, who was introduced after the Islamic Revolution as the highest authority of the state. The legislative power is exercised by the Islamic Consultative Assembly (majles-e shora-ye eslami), whose members are elected representatives of the people. As law in Iran has to comply with the Constitution and Sharia, the was established as an authority to review the compatibility of any law with those sources. Its twelve members are divided into two panels. Six members are jurists selected by the Islamic Consultative Assembly and the remaining six are faqihs appointed by the Leader. Whereas the whole panel decides on compliance of the law with the Constitution, the panel comprising the six faqihs considers compatibility with the principles laid out by Sharia. In case the Guardian Council’s fi nding reveals inconsistency of a bill with the Constitution or Sharia, and there turns out to be a disagreement between them and the Islamic Consultative Assembly on this matter, the bill is handed on to the Expediency Discernment Council of the System, who has the fi nal say in disputes about the compatibility of a piece of legislation with the Constitution and Sharia. Chapter one provides an overview of the history of the judiciary in Iran. The author outlines the main changes concerning judiciary in three different periods: the Pre-Islamic Period, the Arrival of and the Contemporary Period. The arrival of Islam in Iran was characterized by a transformation of all the state-affairs. Islamic jurisprudence became the main source of legal rules and regulations, clergy were in charge of judiciary posts

1 This dialogue is currently suspended since Iran has cancelled the fi fth session which was due to be held in December 2006 (http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cmsUpload/ st14146-re02.en08.pdf#page=31, last visited 28 April 2010).

Austrian Review of International and European Law 13: 447-460, 2008. © 2011 Koninklijke Brill NV. Printed in the Netherlands. 448 Austrian Review of International and European Law and alongside secular courts Islamic courts were set up. The Contemporary period ranges from the end of the Constitution Movement in 1906 to present. The clergy had a prominent role in the Constitution Revolution and therefore religion found greater presence in the system of the country. However, during the reign of Reza Khan (Reza Schah Pahlavi), the infl uence of the clergy diminished gradually. The jurisdiction of the Islamic Courts was reduced and through legal education in foreign countries as well as the adoption of based on the Roman-German legal system and the French legal system, the country was infl uenced by foreign legal systems. The Islamic Revolution brought major changes for the judiciary. “Islamization” in this context meant to comply with the principle of single- judge courts with general competence where people had direct access to the judge whose decision was not appealable. However, as this system did not prove feasible, a Reform in 2002 re-established the offi ce of the public prosecution and the division of the courts into civil and penal courts. In Chapter two, the author deals with the sources of law and the structure of the judiciary. Iran’s codifi ed legislation consists of law, judicial procedure, custom and doctrine. The Islamic sources are the Holy Qur’an, Sunna, consensus and reason. Islamic law plays a role in legislation and serves as a complementary source of law for judges. The Iranian legal system distinguishes between the General Judicial Authorities and the Special Judicial Authorities. Noteworthy in this regard is especially the Revolutionary Court which was set up after the Islamic Revolution as a temporary court, but nonetheless is still in place. It is a penal court and especially deals with crimes related to security, drug traffi cking and offences against the Islamic Republic of Iran, such as insult towards the Founder and the Supreme Leader, plotting against the Islamic Republic of Iran as well as spying in favour of foreigners. Another special court is the Special Court for the Clergy, not operating in the framework of the judiciary but under the direct authority of the Leader. This court mainly deals with criminal acts committed by members of the clergy. In Iran, advocates as well as judges are, amongst other things, required to believe in Islam and Sharia and be loyal to the Islamic Republic of Iran. For judges, masculinity is specifi cally mentioned as an additional eligibility criterion. Even though legislation provides some fl exibility in this regard, women can still only work as investigating judges and conduct similar activities. Issuing of verdicts is still a prerogative of men. In the last Chapter, the author aims to examine the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms in Iran. She gives an account of the various legal provisions in international law as well as Iranian law that pursue the protection of human rights. There are severe infringements of fundamental rights, like for example the non-criminalization of the killing of a Non-Muslim by a Muslim. Furthermore, women are faced with discrimination in numerous areas such as child custody, inheritance, marriage and testimony. The book provides a valuable and comprehensive overview of the legal system of Iran containing direct references to the primary sources of the legal texts in a bilingual version. This is in itself the remarkable and lasting result of the research project of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law on “Human Rights in International Law and Iran”. It evidences once again the Institute’s provident role in legal scholarship by selecting and engaging in the most urgent and important topics of our time. Adineh Abghari’s work will