Despite protests against the undermining of Iran’s Bar Association’s independence and the candidate vetting process, 18 lawyers were elected to board positions in elections held on Thursday with the participation of 4,000 lawyers.

The elected lawyers were Najafi-Tavana, Jondoghi-Kermanipour, Behrouz Haghmaie, Mahmoud Mostafavi-Kashani, Hossein Mohammad-Nabi, Hamid Jannati, Hamid Jalilzadeh, Mehdi Shahla, Jalil Maleki, Ali Hamed-Tavassoli, seyyed Ebrahim Sabetghadam, Ali Kaka-Afshar, Jafar Kousha, Batoul Kayhani, Hossein Asgarirad, Mohammad Reza Paseban, Reza Tamaddon and Ahmad Javidtash.  Twelve of these lawyers will serve as permanent and 6 others as alternate board members.  

But this year’s elections of board members to the Iranian Bar Association – which is one of Iran’s largest trade groups and most influential civil society organizations with 8,000 members – were different because of the events of the past year, which began with the passage of the Bar Association Independence guidelines, proposed by the former judiciary chief, unleashing massive criticism from Iranian lawyers.  

Mina Jafari, and Iranian lawyer, tells Rooz, “These guidelines were proposed without the participation of and input from the Bar Associations during the turbulent political atmosphere immediately after the election.”  

She adds, “According to the independence bill of 1333 (1953), proposed by the late Dr. Mossadegh, the justice minister must prepare the guidelines – which were prepared in 1334 – and any changes to it must be ratified by the Bar Association.  But the Bar Association was no involved in the new guidelines.”  

Another experienced lawyer, who prefers not to be identified, tells Rooz, “In important parts of the guidelines, the judiciary chief has imposed numerous limitations for lawyers, for example, that the judiciary deputy chief must sign the bar admission documents, not the Bar Association President; and this violates the Bar Association’s relative independence after the revolution.”

He adds, “In these elections, half of the candidates were disqualified from the administrative court.  Following that decision, a group of lawyers released a statement and prepared a scroll containing the signatures of dissatisfied lawyers, which was on display during the elections proceedings.”  According to this lawyer, the administrative court lacks jurisdiction to disqualify lawyers, and the right belongs to the Bar Association members.  

During the Bar Association election proceedings, the family of Mohammad Oliyayeefar, a lawyer who was transferred to the Evin Prison a few days ago to serve a one-year prison term, carried signs requesting help for their father’s release.