The Judicial Status of the Head of the Judiciary; From Denial to Proof

The management of the judiciary since its independence has had numerous changes. These developments, in addition to the form and method of management (individual management of the Ministry of Justice, council management of the Supreme Judicial Council, centralized management of the head of the judiciary), have also affected the competencies of this position. Although based on the principle 157 of the Constitution, head of the judiciary has different responsibilities such as administrative and executive responsibility of the judiciary, but there are various disagreements and opinions about the jurisdiction of the head of the judiciary. This paper with a descriptive-analytical method and using library resources and documents examines the judicial status of the head of the judiciary in the legal system of Iran.
The will of the constitutional legislator, provisions of the Constitution, especially the concept and apparent meaning of the principle 157, ordinary laws and decisions of the Guardian Council indicate the head of the judiciary in the legal system of Iran has also judicial jurisdiction beside administrative and executive competencies. Mentioning no judicial task among the duties of the head of the judiciary in the Constitution doesn’t imply the negation of judicial jurisdiction of this authority.