Public Law Studies Quarterly

The Dichotomy between Municipality and City Council’s Legal Entity: The Structural Pathology of Local Government in Iran

Document Type : Article

Author

Farhang Faghih Larijani

Assistant Prof. Department of Law, Faculty of Law and Political sciences, University of Mazazndaran, Babolsar, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22059/jplsq.2021.302337.2425
Abstract
Under article 3 of the [Iranian] Municipal Act of 1955, municipalities have independent legal entity. Meanwhile, the elective section of the municipality – then called “city association”- existed as an internal section of the municipality and not as a separate legal entity. After the Islamic Revolution, the new “city and rural Islamic councils” gained a separate legal entity. Thus, the structural gap between the executive section (municipality) and supervisory section (city and rural council) of local governments emerged. This led to structural incoherence and caused damaging consequences such as unnecessary administrative organs, judicial tensions, financial and budget disputes, and multiple legal responsibilities. Using a historical analysis method, this paper will answer the question: what is the origin of the structural tension between the municipalities and city councils in Iran? It seems the proper solution is returning to the original and historical model of the municipality in Iran and the elimination of the city council's legal entity and integrating it into the municipality.

Keywords

city council
legal entity
municipality
structural pathology

  1. Enlish

    1. A) Articles
    2. Rodriguez, Daniel B. & Shocked, Nadav (2014),"Comparative Local Government Law in Motion: How Different Local Government Law Regimes Affect Global Cities' Bike Share Plans", Fordham Urban Law Journal, Vol.42. pp.123-191.

     

    1. C) Laws
    2. Municipal Act, Finland, Ministry of Finance, 2015, Unofficial translation, legally binding only in Finnish and Swedish Available At https://www.finlex.fi/en/laki/kaannokset/2015/en20150410.pdf

     

    Refrences In Persian:

    1. A) Books
    2. Faghih Larijani, Farhang (2013), Municipality and City Council Relationship Law, Tehran, Majd publication (In Persian).
    3. Moghimi, Seyed Mohammad (2003), Administration of Local Government. Tehran, Samt Publication (In Persian).

     

    1. B) Articles
    2. Aghai Toogh, Moslem (2017), “A Comparative Review on Local Decentralization in Iran”, Quarterly Journal of Public Law Knowledge, Vol. 18, pp.45-65 (In Persian).
    3. Ahmad Akhoundi, Abbas; Asadi, Iraj; Basirat, Meisam & Taherkhani, Meisam (2008), “Pathology of Iranian Urban Management Model”, Geographical Research Quarterly, Vol. 63, pp. 135-156 (In Persian).
    4. Dashti, Ali (2009), “Legal Position and relations of Islamic City Councils in Iran’s Legal System”, Legal Research Quarterly, Vol.49, pp.513-553 (In Persian).
    5. Ghasemi Hamed, Seyed Abbas (2007), “Controllability of City Council under the framework of Urban Law” , Legal Research Quarterly, Vol.33 & 34, pp.149-184 (In Persian).
    6. Habibnejad, Seyed Ahmad (2009), “Legal Review on Islamic City Councils Under the Principle of Decentralization”, Islamic Law Quarterly, Vol.20, pp.111-131 (In Persian).
    7. Jalali, Mohammad (2015), “General instructive Principles of Decentralization in France’s Law and Comparative approach to Iran’s Law”, Public Law Research Quarterly, Vol. 47, pp. 71-98 (In Persian).
    8. Mazhari, Mohammad (2016), “A Review on the process of Urban and Rural Elections in Iran and France”, Comparative Law Review, Vol.2, pp.725-752 (In Persian).
    9. Rodriguez, Daniel B. and Shocked, Nadav (2014)."Comparative Local Government Law in Motion: How Different Local Government Law Regimes Affect Global Cities' Bike Share Plans", Fordham Urban Law Journal, Vol. 42. pp123-191 (In Persian).
    10. Veisi, Hadi (2013), “An Analysis of Local Government Models and Its Compliance with Iranian Cities”, Geography and Development Iranian Journal, Vol.33, pp.139-158 (In Persian).
Public Law Studies Quarterly
Volume 52, Issue 4
Winter 2023
Winter 2022
Pages 2095-2109

  • Receive Date 06 May 2020
  • Revise Date 13 February 2021
  • Accept Date 24 May 2021

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