University of Tehran Public Law Studies Quarterly 2423-8120 56 1 2026 03 21 Analysis of Legal Proceedings against the Media in Iran's Legal System in light of Public Law Principles Analysis of Legal Proceedings against the Media in Iran's Legal System in light of Public Law Principles 365 390 106032 10.22059/jplsq.2025.378546.3560 FA Mohsen Esmaeili Associate Prof., Department of Private and Islamic Law, Faculty of Law and Political Science, University of Tehran, Iran Seyed Ahmad Habibnezhad Associate Prof., Department of Public and International Law, Faculty of Law, Farabi Campus, University of Tehran, Iran Hadiseh Davoudi Ph.D. Student in Public Law, Faculty of Law, Farabi Campus, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran 0000-0002-8182-7805 Journal Article 2024 06 29 Media activity as one of the pillars of democracy in democratic societies, is on the one hand the basis for realizing citizens' access to information, and on the other hand may also involve violation of rights and freedoms. Therefore, legal proceedings against the media should have both the components of legal proceedings as well as pay attention to the responsibility of the media to transmit information and monitor the government. Using library research and interviews with experts, the current research examines structural flaws of the judicial system in dealing with claims against the media. These flaws include the public nature of the proceedings and the tendency to view such proceeding through the lens of criminal law; A view that ignores the responsibility of the media for the free flow of information and treats it like a criminal. Also, the legal requirement for the presence of a jury during the trial and the supervision of the union, which were supposed to help guarantee the rights of the defendants in these cases, have been gradually forgotten and have become a tool to impose more restrictions on the media. As a result, legal proceedings against the media in Iran require a review that would result in the following: expert judges with knowledge of the mission of the media should handle these lawsuits; the opinion of the jury, as an institution that must adjudicate between freedom and power, should be effective in the proceedings; and the role of the government, as an institution that is challenged by free speech, should be minimized in the proceedings. Media activity as one of the pillars of democracy in democratic societies, is on the one hand the basis for realizing citizens' access to information, and on the other hand may also involve violation of rights and freedoms. Therefore, legal proceedings against the media should have both the components of legal proceedings as well as pay attention to the responsibility of the media to transmit information and monitor the government. Using library research and interviews with experts, the current research examines structural flaws of the judicial system in dealing with claims against the media. These flaws include the public nature of the proceedings and the tendency to view such proceeding through the lens of criminal law; A view that ignores the responsibility of the media for the free flow of information and treats it like a criminal. Also, the legal requirement for the presence of a jury during the trial and the supervision of the union, which were supposed to help guarantee the rights of the defendants in these cases, have been gradually forgotten and have become a tool to impose more restrictions on the media. As a result, legal proceedings against the media in Iran require a review that would result in the following: expert judges with knowledge of the mission of the media should handle these lawsuits; the opinion of the jury, as an institution that must adjudicate between freedom and power, should be effective in the proceedings; and the role of the government, as an institution that is challenged by free speech, should be minimized in the proceedings. https://jplsq.ut.ac.ir/article_106032_d9608aeeae7903134f236ba81615b609.pdf