Iran

Iran

 Constitution Iran utilizes a constitution which was adopted by referendum on October 24th of 1979. The constitution created a state of democratic, theocratic, and authoritarian elements. The constitution states that the proud nation is a republic with a president and Majlis (parliament).  Chief/ Head of State

The executive branch is headed by the president, who is the second-highest leader. He is elected in national elections every four years and is limited to two consecutive terms. The constitution specifies that the president must be a Shiite Muslim. The current president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was elected in 2005. The faqih is the supreme leader who shares executive power with the president. The chief and head of state is Ayatollah Khamenei (the faqih). Since 1979 there have been two supreme leaders, Khamenei and Khomeini. He must be appointed by the assembly of religious experts and must be a high Shiite Muslim cleric. Their term of office is one year because the assembly of religious experts meets every year to see if the supreme leader needs to be changed. The supreme leader has the most powerful position and holds anoversight position.

III. ASSEMBLY OF (RELIGIOUS) EXPERTS 1. What is the group? Religious Clergymen 2. How are they chosen? Qualifications? Elected by popular vote 3. What is their Role / Powers in the Iranian System? They evaluate the leader’s work in annual meetings.

IV. EXECUTIVE BRANCH 4. Who is the Head of Government? President/Ahmadinejad 5. Name the last 3 presidents? Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Khamenei, Mohammad Khatami 6. How does one get this position? Term of Office? Elected, 4 year term, 2 term maximum 7. What are the Requirements for this position? Qualifications? Must be Shia Muslim, Iranian, and have partaken in the revolution 8. What is the role / powers of this position? The leader is responsible for choosing the commanders of the military services and the head of the judiciary, setting general state policy, declaring war and peace, commanding the armed forces, initiating and supervising amendments to the constitution, and supervising a variety of influential parastatal foundations and organizations. 9. What is the relationship of the President to the Faqih? Varies dependent on the person in power. Subordinate to the president 10. Who else makes up the Executive Branch and what is their role(s)? Bureaucracy? Assembly of Experts, They evaluate the work of the leader, Vice President, ministers, They are the cabinet.

V. LEGISLATIVE BRANCH <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; tabstops: list .75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">1. What are the most powerful policy making institutions in the Iranian political system? <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1.25in; tabstops: list 1.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">a. The legislative ones (majlis, GC). <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; tabstops: list .75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">2. How is the legislature organized? <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1.25in; tabstops: list 1.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">a. Parliament (majlis) and the gaurdian’s council <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; tabstops: list .75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">3. Which house does the majority of the work? (Notice I did not say which one is more important) <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1.25in; tabstops: list 1.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">a. The majlis; they craft legislation <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; tabstops: list .75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">4. What is the Term of Office for the Majlis? <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1.25in; tabstops: list 1.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">a. 4 years <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; tabstops: list .75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">5. How does one get on the Majlis? Qualifications? <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1.25in; tabstops: list 1.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">a. Elected with universal suffrage <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1.25in; tabstops: list 1.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">b. 5 of the 290 are reserved for officially recognized religious minorities <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; tabstops: list .75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">6. What is the demographic breakdown of the Majlis? <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1.25in; tabstops: list 1.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">a. Most Shia Muslim, except for the 5 above <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; tabstops: list .75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">7. What is their role, power, function? <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1.25in; tabstops: list 1.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">a. Propose/pass legislation. Cannot be dissolved by executive. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; tabstops: list .75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">8. What is the 2nd House called? <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1.25in; tabstops: list 1.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">a. Guardian Council <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; tabstops: list .75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">9. How is the GC organized? Term of Office? <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1.25in; tabstops: list 1.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">a. 12 members. All lawyers. The leader appoints 6, the majlis appoint 6. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; tabstops: list .75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">10. What is their role, power, function? <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1.25in; tabstops: list 1.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">a. Check majlis’ passed legislation for consistency with constitution and Islamic principles. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; tabstops: list .75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">11. What is the 3rd House of the legislature called? <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1.25in; tabstops: list 1.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">a. Expediency Council <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; tabstops: list .75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">12. What is the role, power, function of the EC? <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1.25in; tabstops: list 1.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">a. Resolve disputes between GC and majlis. They have sided with GC, against the GC, and told both houses to fix a piece of legislation. VII. ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS 41. How is the government organized? Federal, Unitary or confederation? Federal 42. How many provinces are there in Iran? 30 provinces 43. How are the 30 Provinces governed? Governors on the province level select the governor of each district. 44. How does one become a governor of a province? By being selected by a governor general 45. How are the local counties, districts and villages governed? By directly elected village council VIII. THE VELAYAT-E FAQIH 47. What is this? The protection of the religious jurist 48. What is the role / purpose of the Guardian of the Jurist in the Iranian System? A modern Islamic state must be governed by those familiar with Shiite religion (aka religious leaders). IX. POLITICAL PARTIES 49. Name and describe the major political parties in Iran. 18 minor conservative parties as well as the abadgaran coalition that was conservative and has been leading Iranian reforms in the twenty-first century. All the parties support the supreme leaders political agenda though and internal factionalism hampers many of the political parties. Also the parties are often fluid structures.

VI. JUDICIAL BRANCH <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; tabstops: list .75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">1. What is the highest judicial authority in Iran? Supreme Court <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; tabstops: list .75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">2. Who is the head of the Judicial Branch? How is this person chosen? Term of Office? __ The head of the judiciary __ - is chosen by the Supreme Leader and serves a 5 year term of office <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; tabstops: list .75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">3. How does one become a member of the highest court? Qualifications? <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; tab-stops: .75in; tabstops: .75in;">Members are appointed by the head of the judiciary. Qualifications- legal trailing, knowledge of Islamic law. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; tabstops: list .75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">4. What is the role of the Supreme Court? <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: .75in; tabstops: .75in;">The Supreme Court oversees enforcement of the laws by lower courts, sets judicial precedent, and acts as a court of appeal <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; tabstops: list .75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">5. What is the hierarchy of the Iranian Court system? __ The Supreme Court __ oversees enforcement of the laws by lower courts, sets judicial precedent, and acts as a court of appeal. __Public courts__ try conventional civil and criminal cases at the provincial and local levels. __Revolutionary courts__ try cases involving political offenses and national security. The __Clerical Court__, which is outside the court system and overseen directly by the leader, deals with crimes committed by members of the clergy, including “ideological offenses.” Such offenses include interpretations of religious precepts that are not acceptable to the establishment clergy and activities, such as journalism, outside the realm of religion. Iran also has special courts for members of the security forces and government officials.

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; tabstops: list .75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">6. What does the Islamic Revolutionary Court do? <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: .75in; tabstops: .75in;">The Islamic revolutionary courts have authority to hold suspects for long pre-trial periods without the benefit of counsel. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; tabstops: list .75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">7. What does the Special Clerical Court do? <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: .75in; tabstops: .75in;">The Clerical Court, which is outside the court system and overseen directly by the leader, deals with crimes committed by members of the clergy, including “ideological offenses.” <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; tabstops: list .75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">8. What is the basis of their legal system? <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: .75in; tabstops: .75in;">Sharia <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; tabstops: list .75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">9. What is the status of Rule of Law in Iran? The court system is supposed to be independent, but its political role in practice reflects the ideological composition of judges who are usually conservative clerics who either oppsed to or suspicious of the floodgate of legal reform.