A Critical Analysis of the Article 4 of the Constitution with a Look at the Constitutions of Iraq and Afghanistan

As stipulated in the article 4 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, all the laws and regulations governing in the Islamic Republic of Iran should be based on and in accord with the Islamic criteria. By the terms ‘generality’ and ‘application’ stated in the article 4 of the constitution is meant the area covered by the Islamic laws and regulations, extending to cover not only the articles of the constitution and all regulations but also all the laws and statutes passed in the Iranian Parliament (parliamentary statutes) before and after the Islamic Revolution, all the bylaws, circular letters issued by the three powers, ratified bills (decrees) of certain institutions and commissions such as the Expediency Discernment Council of the System, Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution (also known as the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council or SCRC). In the meantime, the authority for discerning the constitutionality of laws and regulations [the extent to which the laws and regulations are in accord with the Islamic precepts and criteria] has been entrusted with the Muslim jurists of the Guardian Council of the Constitution. Likewise, in the constitutions of Iraq and Afghanistan, certain articles have been dedicated to this important issue. Many articles of the constitution of Afghanistan have dealt with the issue at hand in detail and the two supervising authorities: Stera Mahkama or the Afghan Supreme Court and the Independent Commission for Overseeing the Implementation of Constitution (ICOIC) have been entrusted with this task, while the constitution of Iraq has nothing to do with this issue and the Federal Supreme Court of Iraq, acting as an independent judicial body, interprets the constitution and determines the constitutionality of laws and regulations.