By 1987, the country`s legislative process, as well as long-term policy-making, had stalled due to doctrinal conflict between the radical factions of the Islamic Consultative Assembly and the Guardian Council, which officials at the time called coercion. Consultations in February of the following year led Ayatollah Khomeini to order the appointment of a 13-member council, which was given legislative authority: it could pass provisional laws (valid for three years). Article 112 of the Iranian Constitution provides that the EDC shall be convened by the Supreme Leader to rule on cases of expediency in which the Council of Guardians finds a decision of the Islamic Consultative Assembly that violates the principles of religious law or the Constitution, and if the Consultative Assembly is unable to satisfy the Council of Guardians in view of the expediency of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Formally, the Expediency Council of the System (or regime) is primarily a constitutional advisory body to the Supreme Leader (at his request), as described in Article 112 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic. It should “recognize the interests of the Islamic Republic” by resolving internal conflicts within the regime. [7] The Council consisted of thirteen members at the time of its initial convocation and included six members of the clergy (appointed by the Supreme Leader), six civil servants (President, Prime Minister, Speaker of the Majles, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Attorney General and a representative of the Supreme Leader) and the member of the Majles, whose legislation has been repealed. The CRC Chairman is appointed every five years by the Supreme Leader. [8] Although the Supreme Leader is himself a member of the Council (and this is its Advisory Council), he can represent the Council. Nine years later, in 1997, Khamenei expanded his membership to thirty-four, twenty-five of whom were appointed for five years. In February 2007, a new council was formed, this time with twenty-seven members elected directly by the Supreme Leader.
[9] The System Conciliation Council[2] (Persian: مجمع تشخیص مصلحت نظام Majma`-e Taškhīs-e Maslahat-e Nezām) is an administrative assembly appointed by the Supreme Leader[3] and created after the revision of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran on February 6, 1988. [4] It was originally created to resolve disputes or conflicts between the Majlis and the Guardian Council, but “its real power lies more in its advisory role to the Supreme Leader.” According to Hooman Majd, after the election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2005, the leader “delegated some of his own authority to the council and gave it oversight powers over all branches of government.” [5] The first relevant committees discussed changes to drug laws. With regard to public health issues, such as drug prevention and abuse, discussions take place in the section on demand reduction; For issues related to smuggling and human trafficking, this is the section on supply reduction. Once mature, a proposal or agenda for discussion (dastur-e kar) for a change in policy is sent to the Justice and Judicial Commission of the Conciliation Council, headed by the head of the judiciary. This is usually the litmus test for any new policy proposal involving institutional vetoes. In the view of my interlocutors, opinions are generally safety-oriented and punitive with regard to drug policy, although significant changes have taken place over the past decade. The participation of expert groups, practitioners, academics and civil society groups is a common practice in the evaluation process. With respect to drug policy issues, well-known figures in the medical community are generally invited to comment on specific topics of interest to the subcommittees or Council. Eminent epidemiologists from Iranian universities and prominent members of NGOs provide their reports and analyses at this level, emphasizing the tangibility of results and experiences rather than political readings and intellectual deconstructions. There is a general preference for numerical reporting and econometric results, which often makes it easier for committees to advocate for or against a policy proposal. It is common for experts known for their opposing views to participate; While this can be complex at any time, it is the norm in drug law reform debates. Cooperation with research centres is crucial for the political debate in the Council.
Lessons learned from the “field” of drug policy are disseminated by researchers and made available to the bureaucratic apparatus in preparation for Council discussions. One research centre that plays an important role in this regard is the Iranian National Centre for Drug Studies (INCAS). Founded in 2004 amid controversy surrounding harm reduction practices, INCAS is a place for research and drug policy implementation/design. If the current Supreme Leader is removed or dies, the Conciliation Council has the power to approve some of the tasks of the Temporary Governing Council, and if a member of the Temporary Governing Council is unable to perform his or her duties, he or she also has the power to elect a replacement. 50 Before the public they plausibly speak of justice, law and contract, 51 But in their dark advice they have defrauded leaders of opportunism, 52 A subject that is lawful in its place, but not lawful against justice. It could be roughly translated as (The Council to distinguish or diagnose “self-interest” from the “governmental” system). The key word here is مصلحت, which could, at least in Arabic, be rendered out of self-interest or self-interest. Perhaps “interest” was perceived as a negative word and therefore avoided in translation.
Finally, members of the Guardian Council felt that Khomeini`s support for the government and parliament weakened their council. Khomeini tried to appease them. “It is God, and only God, that the Guardian Council must consider, and no one else,” he said. The Expediency Council (Majma` Taškhīs Maṣlaḥat Nezām) was established in 1988 by decree of the then Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini. When the Constitution was amended in 1989, the Council was incorporated into the Constitution. It has two functions: first, it acts as a council of experts that advises the Supreme Leader on all policy areas; secondly, it can act as a legislative body as follows: after the Guardian Council (which examines all laws for constitutionality and conformity with Islamic law in accordance with Article 4) has vetoed a law, the Parliament (Majles) may decide by a 2/3 majority to send the draft law to the Conciliation Council. The Council may then decide to adopt the law in the version transmitted by the Majles or with amendments requested by the Council of Guardians, or in another version. It was Parliament`s refusal to allow Conservative candidates to fill vacancies on the Guardian Council.
The dispute arose when reformers in parliament rejected the nomination of at least two Conservative candidates, saying they were politically biased. The conservatives were anxious not to lose control of the Guardian Council, fearing that President Mohammad Khatami and his reformist allies would then be able to push through political and social reforms. The dispute over the Council delayed the inauguration of President Khatami for a second four-year term. The Iranian System Arbitration Council is an institution that may have no other equivalent in the world.
