The Council Guardianship (Velayat-e-Shuraei) from the perspective of Shiite Jurisprudence and the Constitutional Law of Islamic Republic of Iran

There have been various theories suggested regarding the political theory of Islam so as to establish the state. One of these ideas mentioned by some contemporary jurists is council guardianship (Velayat-e-shuraei). The proponents of this view argue that the necessity to consult emphasized in religious texts, the guardianship of all jurists, the probability of despotism in individual guardianship and etc. requires a council of jurists to be made in every era and therefore, state decisions would be taken collectively. Among the reasons adduced for this matter is citing to the importance and necessity of the council in Islam and narratives (Hadiths (. Consideration of the reasons in Shiite jurisprudence indicates that not only there is no lawful evidence to withdraw the individual guardianship, but also there are some reasons in the contrary of the council guardianship; such as confronting with trouble in decision-makings regarding the important issues when the votes are equal in the council or the majority isn’t reached, beside the idling of the affairs of the Islamic society and the wane of the unity between the council and imitators. Since the prediction of the council guardianship in the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Iran, passing the time in addition to the realization of practical problems, confirmed the absence of lawful basis and rationality for this theory and therefore, it was removed from the Constitution after the revision.