Public Law Studies Quarterly

A reflection on the legal nature of the Islamic City Council, legal ambiguities and judicial challenges (Criticism and review of the unanimous decision No. 827-1401/9/29 of the General Board of the Supreme Court)

Articles in Press

Document Type : Article

Authors

Mahdi Dorbin 1
Ehsan Akbari 2

1 Ph.D. in (Criminal Law), Faculty of Humanities, University Of Edalat, Tehran, Iran

2 Ph.D. in (Public Law), Faculty of Law and Political Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22059/jplsq.2025.389404.3675
Abstract
In various laws governing Islamic councils, the legislator did not explain the legal nature of this institution, and the ambiguity regarding the nature of the city Islamic councils is one of the important ambiguities in Iran's legal system. Last year, this ambiguity led to a difference of opinion among the legal courts and the issuance of unanimous decision No. 827-29/9/1401 of the General Board of the Supreme Court of Iran, and the General Board of the Supreme Court of Iran announced according to the said unanimous decision that the consideration of Lawsuits against the specific approvals of the city's Islamic Councils are under the jurisdiction of the Administrative Court of Justice. The unanimous decision was issued while two years ago, the General Board of the Administrative Court of Justice had announced by unanimous decision No. 972-20/8/2013 that the handling of the said lawsuit is not within the competence of the branches of the Administrative Court of Justice. This clear conflict between the two unanimous votes issued by the General Board of the Supreme Court and the General Board of the Administrative Court of Justice confirms the important legal uncertainty that exists regarding the nature of the city's Islamic councils. In this article, based on the examination of the legal standards governing the jurisdiction of the Court of Administrative Justice and the examination of the legal nature of the organizational units subject to the judicial supervision of the Court's branches, we express the opinion that the legal nature of the Islamic city councils does not correspond to any of the organizational units specified in Article 10. The Law of the Court of Administrative Justice is not, and despite the fact that this lawsuit is of an administrative nature, the handling of the case of annulment of the case-laws of the Islamic City Councils is not within the jurisdiction of the Court's branches as described in Article 10 of the Law of the Court of Administrative Justice.

Keywords

competence
resolution
law
city council
nature
Subjects
References In Persian:
A) Books
1.     Aghaei Toq, M., & Lotfi, H. (2019). Administrative Law (1). First edition. Tehran: Publishing Joint Stock Company (In Persian).
2.     Dashti, A. (2019). Critique and study of the procedure of the Administrative Court of Justice regarding lawsuits filed against local councils. Tehran: Judiciary Research Institute (In Persian).
3.     Delavari, M. R. (2016). Organization and Procedure Law of the Administrative Court of Justice. Tehran: Jangal Publications (In Persian).
4.     Ghotbi, M. (2015). The position and competences of the Administrative Court of Justice in the legal system of the Islamic Republic of Iran with a look at the opinions of the Guardian Council. First edition. Tehran: Guardian Council Research Institute (In Persian).
5.     Hosseinipour Ardakani, M. (2011). A look at the dimensions of the fundamental rights of the Islamic Republic of Iran (the position and legal system governing non-governmental public institutions and organizations). First edition. Tehran: Legal Studies Office of the Research Center of the Islamic Consultative Assembly (In Persian).
6.     Mashhadi, A. (2024). The law on the organization and procedure of the Administrative Court of Justice in the current legal system. Tehran: Khorsandi Publications (In Persian).
7.     Molabigi, G., & Mohammadi Ahmadabadi, H. (2023): Jurisdiction and Procedure of the Administrative Court of Justice, Tehran: Jangal Publications (In Persian).
 
B) Articles
8.     Akbari, M., & Afshari, F. (2022). Jurisdiction of the Administrative Court of Justice Branches in Claims Filed Against Islamic City Councils: A Critical Look at the 972 Unanimous Decision of the General Board of the Administrative Court of Justice. Quarterly Journal of Judicial Decision Studies, (39) (In Persian).
9.     Faghih Larijani, F. (2022). The duality of the legal personality of the city council and the municipality; Structural pathology of local institutions in Iran. Quarterly Journal of Public Law Studies, 52(4) (In Persian).
10. Rostami, V., & Hosseinipour Ardakani, M. (2013). The position of Islamic councils in the legal system of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Journal of Public Law Knowledge, 2 (5) (In Persian).
Public Law Studies Quarterly

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 23 September 2027

  • Receive Date 03 February 2025
  • Revise Date 12 May 2025
  • Accept Date 04 August 2025

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