University of Tehran Public Law Studies Quarterly 2423-8120 55 4 2025 12 22 Feasibility of Legislation by the Guardian Council: A Case Study of the 2021 Electoral Act Feasibility of Legislation by the Guardian Council: A Case Study of the 2021 Electoral Act 2253 2276 96995 10.22059/jplsq.2024.364402.3380 FA Vali Rostami Prof., Department of Public Law, Faculty of Law and Political Science, University of Tehran, ‎Tehran, Iran‎ Mohammadreza Moradian Nayyeri MA. Student in Public Law, Faculty of Law, Imam Sadeq University, Tehran, Iran Journal Article 2023 08 29 The Guardian Council is an independent institution, separate from the three branches of government in Iran’s constitutional system. Although legislation is an inherent function of the legislative branch and, based on multiple principles and foundations in the field of public law, other institutions generally lack this authority, the multiplicity of legal norms, the detailed nature of legislative processes, and the practical realities of the legal system sometimes necessitate the exercise of the Guardian Council’s statutory powers and duties. This is particularly the case in the supervision of elections, which is an all-encompassing task in which the Guardian Council acts as an administrative body. Under such circumstances, the notion of legislation in the form of legal norms by the Guardian Council is neither theoretically implausible nor practically unattainable. This paper, using a descriptive-analytical method based on credible sources and taking into account the existing legal rules and regulations in Iran, seeks to answer the question: What is the scope and extent of legislation (in the general sense) and regulatory issuance (in the specific sense) by the Guardian Council? If such authority exists, the study aims to clarify and distinguish it, and to define the conditions and rules governing its exercise. Finally, by examining prevailing views on the legal nature of the Council’s electoral enactments and based on theoretical foundations established in the research, the 2021 Electoral Act issued by the Guardian Council is analyzed and evaluated. The Guardian Council is an independent institution, separate from the three branches of government in Iran’s constitutional system. Although legislation is an inherent function of the legislative branch and, based on multiple principles and foundations in the field of public law, other institutions generally lack this authority, the multiplicity of legal norms, the detailed nature of legislative processes, and the practical realities of the legal system sometimes necessitate the exercise of the Guardian Council’s statutory powers and duties. This is particularly the case in the supervision of elections, which is an all-encompassing task in which the Guardian Council acts as an administrative body. Under such circumstances, the notion of legislation in the form of legal norms by the Guardian Council is neither theoretically implausible nor practically unattainable. This paper, using a descriptive-analytical method based on credible sources and taking into account the existing legal rules and regulations in Iran, seeks to answer the question: What is the scope and extent of legislation (in the general sense) and regulatory issuance (in the specific sense) by the Guardian Council? If such authority exists, the study aims to clarify and distinguish it, and to define the conditions and rules governing its exercise. Finally, by examining prevailing views on the legal nature of the Council’s electoral enactments and based on theoretical foundations established in the research, the 2021 Electoral Act issued by the Guardian Council is analyzed and evaluated. https://jplsq.ut.ac.ir/article_96995_18b8eca20351da870bae6a22dba7ae46.pdf