Justice on trial: Iran’s judiciary in transition
Moein Khazaeli, a legal scholar and human-rights researcher, told a conference in Oslo that deep reform of Iran’s judiciary will be one of the most urgent and difficult tasks in any post-Islamic Republic transition.
Speaking at the “Justice in Transition: Challenges and Solutions” conference organised by Iran Human Rights on 2–3 September 2023, Khazaeli argued that the judiciary—long complicit in repression—must be radically transformed if it is to regain public trust and underpin a democratic future. “Guaranteeing justice, human rights and the rule of law depends directly on how transitional justice is applied and who carries it out,” he said.
Khazaeli noted that while victims of state violence rightly demand accountability for perpetrators, transitional justice is not limited to prosecutions. Its broader purpose, he stressed, is to restore public confidence, prevent renewed conflict and embed the rule of law. “In Iran, this cannot happen unless the judiciary itself is restructured,” he said.
He described the record of the Islamic Republic’s courts as “black and notorious”, citing systematic violations of due process and widespread complicity in abuses. This legacy, he warned, will make public trust in a reformed judiciary difficult to achieve. “The challenge is enormous,” he admitted, “but reform is essential.”
At the heart of his argument was the concept of institutional reform, a core mechanism of transitional justice. This involves rebuilding state institutions so that they serve citizens rather than repress them. In the case of Iran’s judiciary, Khazaeli said, reforms must cover personnel, laws and organisational structures.
He called for lustration and vetting to remove officials directly responsible for abuses, from senior judicial leaders down to security prosecutors and prison directors. Without such measures, he argued, society would not trust the courts. He added that some lower-level staff could remain in advisory roles or continue after retraining, but those implicated in crimes should be excluded.
Alongside personnel changes, Khazaeli urged the repeal of inhumane laws such as those permitting executions, amputations and flogging, as well as discriminatory statutes on religion, gender and personal freedoms. He insisted that freedom of belief, expression and equality before the law must be enshrined as basic principles.
Structural reform, too, is vital, he said. Revolutionary Courts and the Special Clerical Court—symbols of politicised justice—must be abolished. Judicial and administrative functions should be separated to allow proper oversight, and the prosecution service should operate independently from the bench. “Concentrating power in one man at the top of the judiciary has been disastrous,” Khazaeli said, calling instead for a collective leadership such as a supreme judicial council.
Another cornerstone, he argued, is the absolute right to legal defence. No trial, particularly criminal proceedings, should proceed without access to an independent lawyer. Khazaeli insisted that bar associations must be freed from state interference if they are to protect citizens’ rights.
He also addressed the role of law enforcement and prisons, urging that police powers as judicial officers be placed under the Ministry of Justice rather than the courts, to reduce the judiciary’s dependence on security services. Prison administration, too, should be transferred to the justice ministry to enhance accountability.
Khazaeli warned that transitional justice must also tackle ordinary crime, not only political repression. Ignoring everyday offences, he said, would fuel violence, vigilantism and erode trust in new institutions. He proposed national campaigns under the judiciary and civil society to restore the rule of law alongside prosecutions of human-rights violators.
In closing, he argued that transitional justice in Iran will succeed only if the judiciary itself embodies the principles of fairness, transparency and independence. “Without a reformed justice system,” he said, “neither peace nor democracy will endure.
Translated from Farsi via machine translation and lightly edited for clarity.