Iran's Khamenei demands deep judicial reform to boost trust, fight corruption

Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has called for a sweeping overhaul of Iran's judiciary, urging reforms to bolster public confidence, expedite legal proceedings, and intensify the crackdown on corruption and rights abuses. Speaking on the occasion of Judicial Power Week, Khamenei outlined the judiciary's crucial role in safeguarding citizens' rights, upholding public liberties, and enforcing divine laws.

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The role of the Judiciary in the Islamic Republic of Iran is to protect the rights of the people, revitalize public rights and legitimate freedoms, combat corruption, apply justice, establish divine norms, and supervise the enforcement of the law.

Khamenei stressed that successful reforms would not only bring divine satisfaction but also strengthen public trust in this pillar of the Islamic Republic. He envisioned a judicial system where the oppressed find refuge and those in power are deterred from violating others' rights. The leader insisted that the long-awaited judicial transformation must move beyond mere documents and plans to yield tangible outcomes, demanding a firmer stance against corruption, fewer rights violations, swifter case processing, higher quality judgments, and more accessible justice.

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The result of success on this path, besides divine satisfaction, will be the strengthening of the people's trust in this pillar of the Islamic Republic.

The Supreme Leader also broadened the scope of rights protection to include public and social rights, such as economic security, equal opportunities, fair access to natural resources, a healthy environment, legitimate freedoms, and effective governance. These pronouncements emerge at a time when Iran is reportedly experiencing a rise in executions, particularly of individuals detained during recent anti-government protests and those accused of national security offenses. Human rights organizations have voiced grave concerns over the human rights situation, citing a significant number of executions and arrests linked to freedom of expression.

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the society expects that the judicial transformation will cease to be limited to documents and plans and translate into concrete results, with firmer action against corruption, a reduction in rights violations, greater speed in case processing, higher quality judgments, and easier access to justice.