Rights
A republic subordinated to Islamic criteria, with the Leader above the elected branches
The 1979 Constitution, amended in 1989, combines elected institutions with clerical supervision. The Supreme Leader appoints the head of the judiciary and half the Guardian Council, which vets legislation for conformity with Islam and the constitution and vets candidates for elected office.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — National. Iran is a unitary state; provinces are administrative units.
Governing law
- Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran 1979, amended 1989
- Articles 91-99 — composition and powers of the Guardian Council
- Article 4 — all laws must be based on Islamic criteria
In practice
Article 4 is the organising provision: it requires all civil, penal, financial, economic, administrative and other laws to be based on Islamic criteria, and gives the Guardian Council jurisdiction to judge that question. The Council's twelve members are six clerics appointed by the Leader and six lawyers nominated by the head of the judiciary and approved by parliament. Where the Council and parliament deadlock, the Expediency Council resolves the dispute. This structure means that an Iranian statute can be constitutional in the ordinary sense and still be struck down as un-Islamic, and it is why Iran cannot be described as a civil law system with religious features — the hierarchy runs the other way.