Majlis Gives New Powers to Supreme Leader

Supervising Powerful Institutions is Getting More Difficult

The Islamic Republic Majlis passed new legislation emphasizing the ban on investigating the ‎Guardian Council, the Expediency Council and the Assembly of Experts and conditioning ‎investigations of other institutions to be under the authority of the Supreme Leader.

The legislation was passed after the Guardian Council struck down a bill passed by the eighth ‎Majlis in October over the same issue.

As a result, the Majlis, which had previously voluntarily banned itself from investigating ‎institutions under the Supreme Leader's authority, amended Section 7 of Article 198 of the ‎Majlis internal rules as such: "Investigation does not extend to the Guardian Council, the ‎Assembly of Experts, the Expediency Council and cases considered by the judiciary, and with ‎respect to institutions under the Supreme Leader's authority, the possibility of Majlis ‎investigation is conditional on the Supreme Leader's consent."

The recent action by Majlis lawmakers takes place after the eighth Majlis had previously banned ‎itself from investigating the Guardian Council, the Expediency Council and the Assembly of ‎Experts. Meanwhile, the amendment to the Majlis internal rules does not take into account this ‎limitation.

News Agencies reported the following of the method of passage of this limitation by the Majlis: ‎‎"The Guardian Council, in light of problems identified with previous Majlis legislation, had ‎requested the implementation of certain limitations in scope of institutions subject to ‎investigation," and "the eighth Majlis Principalist majority passed the recent bill to address the ‎Guardian Council's concerns."

The eighth Majlis added a Section to Article 198 of internal rules on that very day allowing ‎investigation of institutions under Supreme Leader's authority with his consent.

One day after the legislation was passed by the Majlis, Etemad daily reported, "Several ‎lawmakers protested the revision in Majlis internal rules in the hallways because these ‎lawmakers believed that the Guardian Council must not be exempt from investigation. The ‎Majlis elects at least 6 of the Council's 12 members and as a result must have the right to ‎supervise the Council."

Other than the three institutions, Guardian Council, Assembly of Experts and Expediency ‎Council, which are fully outside the scope of Majlis investigation, military institutions such as ‎the Revolutionary Guards, army and State Security Forces, as well as the radio and television ‎network, judiciary, Foundation for the Downtrodden (one of the largest economic cartels in the ‎Middle East), special court for the clergy, Supreme Council for Cultural Revolution and other ‎similar institutions are among those that fall under the Supreme Leader's direct authority and ‎require his consent to be subject to investigation by the Majlis.

Among these institutions, the special court of the clergy and the Supreme Council for Cultural ‎Revolution are two institutions not mentioned at all by the Islamic Republic Constitution and ‎never authorized by the Majlis.

The action by the majority conservative lawmakers in the Majlis took place despite the fact that ‎the Majlis has never conducted an investigation of the Guardian Council, the Expediency ‎Council or the Assembly of Experts. In addition, budgetary considerations and information ‎regarding the armed forces are fully secret and Majlis lawmakers are aware only of the official ‎budgetary allocation as part of the annual budget bill. So far, no reports have been published of ‎the method of expenditure of these budgetary allocations or other resources by the Majlis. ‎

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