Statements of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in a meeting with the President, Vice Presidents, and staff of the Judiciary, on the eve of the anniversary of the Seventh of Tir

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

I welcome the esteemed attendees, the dedicated and hardworking officials of the Judiciary, as well as the respected families associated with the dear and esteemed martyrs of the Seventh of Tir. This is one of the prominent points in the history of our Judiciary, as its annual commemorative days coincide with the Seventh of Tir, which is derived from the glorious event of martyrdom.

May God elevate the ranks of our dear martyr, the late Ayatollah Beheshti, and may He gather him with His chosen ones, for he began a great struggle, both in the political and administrative arenas of the country and the revolutionary system, and especially in the judicial sphere, which, thanks be to God, has continued through the efforts of others.

The martyrs of the Seventh of Tir were targeted at a very sensitive time by the malicious attacks of the enemies of the revolution. The target was not only martyr Beheshti; in fact, a valuable group of the Islamic system's managers was the target, with the intention of paralyzing the Islamic system. The efforts you see or hear today against the Islamic system began in the early years and, thanks be to God, have so far been thwarted by the resistance of the people. One manifestation of this was the issue of the Seventh of Tir.

Now, regarding the Judiciary: First, I must sincerely thank the efforts made at all levels of the Judiciary—from the highest levels and the leadership council to the operational and executive branches, the courts, and the honorable judges and others. The heavy workload in this Judiciary truly deserves gratitude and appreciation, especially the efforts and actions that the esteemed head of the Judiciary referred to in his statements, indicating that these efforts look to the future and are related to the serious responsibilities of the Judiciary, which, God willing, must proceed with strength and power. I especially want to thank the esteemed head of the Judiciary. Thanks be to God, his scientific, religious, and practical stature is high, and one of God's blessings for the country is that such personalities hold such serious and sensitive responsibilities. We hope, God willing, that day by day, divine successes will increase for him and his dear colleagues.

The Judiciary plays a decisive role in the country's progress towards Islamic goals. It has been repeatedly stated that if we want to pursue the movement towards divine and Islamic goals and the observance of people's rights, it cannot be done without enforcement guarantees, which are primarily in the hands of the Judiciary. It is the Judiciary that addresses violations and deviations—deliberate ones in one way, and unintentional ones in another—and prevents their recurrence. In fact, the Judiciary is the guarantor of the correctness of the actions of the system's officials and the people and the protection of their rights within the Islamic system. If we are thirsty for justice, the guarantee of achieving justice is possible through the integrity and efficiency of the Judiciary. If we value the people and their rights as a top priority, the realization of these rights depends on the Judiciary's ability to carry out its work with strength, courage, and insight. The role of the Judiciary is thus unparalleled and immense. Therefore, membership and working in this Judiciary is truly an honor. Any effort made in this Judiciary or in support and cooperation with it is a good deed and a significant act in the eyes of God. The issue of the Judiciary is not trivial; thus, everyone has a duty to assist so that this decisive institution can fulfill its outstanding and unparalleled role. If, God forbid, this institution is paralyzed, no matter how well other institutions work, they will not be able to fill the gaps caused by transgressions, abuses, shortcomings, and negligence; that is, the integrity of the system will not be realized without the integrity and completeness of the Judiciary. Therefore, you see how high the status of a judge and the Judiciary is in Islam. The expressions regarding the judiciary and judges are very remarkable and profound; for example, "You have taken a seat that only a prophet, or the appointed successor of a prophet, or a wretched person can occupy." The judge is told: This place where you are sitting can only be occupied by a prophet, or someone appointed by a prophet and his successor, or a wretched person! The matter is between these two. This status is so elevated that only a prophet or someone appointed by a prophet and his successor can sit here. The hierarchy of the judiciary is determined in this way. If this is not the case, then the issue is one of wretchedness. Therefore, the importance of this position is such that these things are deemed necessary for it. In this regard, there are responsibilities on the Judiciary and also responsibilities for those outside the Judiciary; they too have duties towards the Judiciary. Today, I want to briefly address the Judiciary and also address the critics of the Judiciary.

However, the matter concerning the critics is that criticism in society is a good thing; because criticism allows the criticized to understand their strengths and weaknesses, and also allows observers to understand. This helps advance work. However, criticism is different from fault-finding, especially hostile fault-finding. The Judiciary should not be weakened. For a judge to be able to sit and act correctly and firmly in the place of a prophet, they need to feel supported by the system; they must feel that they are being supported and strengthened and that they hold a respected position in the eyes of the people. A judge needs public respect and support from officials. If the door to illogical, hostile, and fault-finding criticisms, sometimes with political motives, is opened towards the Judiciary, both of these needs will be harmed: the judge and the judiciary will fall from the people's eyes and lose the support of officials. Then how can we expect that in this atmosphere, a judge will bravely stand up and bring a tyrant and violator of the law—who has both power and wealth—to trial without being influenced by them? This is not easy. If we want the judge to have the courage, firmness, and authority to bear the heavy burdens we expect of them, we must first support them and the institution that supports them; secondly, we must maintain their dignity in the eyes of the people.

You see that in global propaganda, it is common—though not that it doesn't happen otherwise; it is rare—that they praise and define their judiciary; even in various advertisements and films. When one learns about the inner workings of their judicial systems, they see how far it is from the image they present; but they try to portray the judge as having an unassailable, incorruptible, wise, just, and insightful position. Often, this is not the case; but the propaganda is like this. This is so that anyone who refers to the judiciary can do so with confidence; anyone who is caught by the judiciary should be held accountable, and overall, the dignity of the judiciary and, behind it, the actions of the judiciary can play their role. We should not act contrary to this wise method; we should not constantly weaken the judiciary and subject it to unjust and unwarranted criticisms. I have said: Criticism means seeing the good and the bad, the strengths and the weaknesses together. The meaning of criticism is not that one should not see the strengths and sometimes observe the weaknesses with various motives. The point is; the Judiciary should not be weakened; this is detrimental to all. No one benefits from weakening the Judiciary in the country. Yes; the enemies of the system benefit; those who want no work of the system to be organized and for the Islamic system not to take shape as desired. Therefore, my message to the critics of the Judiciary is that in this regard, they should act with fairness, wisdom, without political motives, and without bias. Otherwise, the harm will come to all. Of course, alongside this, the Judiciary should be assisted so that it can acquire the necessary resources and carry out the required tasks.

My message to the Judiciary is that when we say the Judiciary should not be weakened, this weakening is not always from outside the Judiciary; sometimes the weakening comes from within the Judiciary. Those who are inside the Judiciary have responsibilities. If they act in a way with their methods, behavior, and speech that weakens the Judiciary, this is also a type of weakening. The Judiciary, with its immense responsibility, must move with great care and vigilance at all levels—from top to bottom. What Islam wants is that the judge should be pious, knowledgeable, and capable of ijtihad (jurisprudential reasoning). Of course, here, ijtihad requires a certain level of scientific and jurisprudential expertise. It may not be possible at this level for the entire judiciary today—which it is not—and judges are appointed; but alongside this, another meaning can be assumed for ijtihad; that is, innovation in understanding the judicial scene and the type of dealing with crime within the framework of the law. A law may not have the same implications for all criminals everywhere; here, the judge's insight is necessary. The judge must also possess purity, sincerity, sufficient courage, understanding, and insight. In the judiciary, as much as possible, we need these qualities.

We should not lower our expectations from the judiciary; the judiciary must be elevated. I have repeatedly told the esteemed and respected officials of the Judiciary in various sectors that the ruling must be so solid and well-founded that it can be defended at all levels. Of course, this does not mean that there will be no annulments in the Supreme Court; yes, there may be some shortcomings; but the judge's intention in issuing the ruling and adhering to the law and reasoning in the ruling—which has led their mind to this ruling—must be so solid that anyone who sees the ruling will internally affirm that it is correct; the more knowledge and understanding a person has, the more they will affirm it. There should be no illusion, weakness, or shortcomings in the ruling. Of course, this requires certain conditions: using experts, utilizing forensic science, employing thoughtful and wise individuals, diligence, patience, impartiality, and neutrality, and having no prejudgment during the trial. These are very important. If we observe these things in the judiciary, a significant part of what is the responsibility of the officials and judicial staff, alongside this great duty and the preservation of the dignity of the Judiciary, will be fulfilled.

Another very important point is that one must be very cautious of the influence of money and the wealthy within the Judiciary and avoid it. This is one of the very great dangers. It has been proven in the world that the power of money surpasses many other things. Today, many of the Zionist objectives in the world are pursued with the power of money. One of the greatest dangers for governments that adhere to principles is that the wealthy can exert influence in the pillars of government. These ruin everything. Any part of the system that is influenced by the wealthy and the rich will be compromised. In this regard, the Judiciary is the worst affected. You must be very careful that, God forbid, such a thing does not happen to this institution, and that money and the wealthy, with their methods, cannot exert influence. This is also one of the means of strengthening. Political influences are the same. Political institutions, political motivations, and political currents should not allow influence to occur. If the Judiciary relies on knowledge, insight, purity, and integrity in its main pillars, it will largely achieve the objectives that the Judiciary seeks. This point must be taken into account.

Of course, the Judiciary needs to interact with other institutions—with the executive and legislative branches. Just as we recommend the executive and legislative branches to cooperate with the Judiciary and help meet its needs, we also recommend the Judiciary to cooperate and collaborate with those two branches. This is not to say that someone should be influenced by another; rather, they should always consider the policies and overall solidarity of the system in their major pillars and sectors.

We must be very careful that, God forbid, minor offenses appear large in the eyes of individuals or influential figures in the Judiciary, while major crimes seem small. One of the things that has brought divine retribution upon past nations and previous communities—according to the narration from the infallible—is that sometimes they overlooked major crimes and considered minor offenses to be significant. Of course, a crime is a crime; it does not matter, and every crime—whether small or large—must be prosecuted according to the law; but it is very important what the institutions focus on. A year ago, we emphasized the fight against economic corruption and encouraged the institutions to be serious in this struggle. The emphasis on this work is because economic corruption is a polluted current that, if not prevented and fought against, will contaminate the entire environment. This is not just about an isolated crime; dealing with economic corruption is of vital importance to the system. Of course, in that letter I wrote to the esteemed heads of the three branches, I mentioned that they should be careful not to confuse managerial violations, which often stem from mistakes, with crimes committed intentionally. Be careful that first, the work is done, and then the people are informed about what has been accomplished. Publicity regarding work that has not yet been done is not only unhelpful but also creates harms. We should do the work, then inform that this work has been done—for example, this case has been addressed and concluded, or this right has been restored—not that before any work is done, we create a fuss that we intend to do this work; then we may not be able to, or some issue arises, or it becomes clear that we made a mistake in some aspect. I believe in informing and reporting; I have repeatedly told the esteemed head of the Judiciary and other friends in this regard. The public opinion must be informed, and accurate and correct reporting must be done; however, the reporting must be timely, appropriate, and in a dignified and correct manner.

Today, you see what tools the world uses; advanced propaganda tools against the system and Islamic objectives and against Islam itself. One day they said they opposed political Islam; but today, even the essence of Islam, if found in a corner, is intolerable for them! The enemy uses various tools like this. We must move very wisely in these areas. In a world that operates on the basis of oppression, if we can keep the banner of justice raised here, know that the hearts of nations—even non-Muslim nations—will be attracted; because everyone is thirsty for justice. Today, the world is thirsty for justice.

You should observe the words of the U.S. President yesterday! He calls a nation that has been deprived of all its human rights according to all international norms a terrorist; but he introduces the regime that has used all means to suppress and continue the deprivation of this nation as a victim! Is there any greater oppression than this?! Is there any greater injustice than this?! They stand before the eyes of the world and do not even feel ashamed; they openly present the truth as false and falsehood as truth. In this person's statements, the Palestinian nation becomes a terrorist; but the regime that has deprived this nation of all its human rights—rights recognized among all the norms of the world—becomes a victim and a target of terrorism! Do you think the people of the world do not understand these things? It may be possible for a short time to influence public opinion with colorful propaganda; but you have seen in Europe and many other regions of the world and in the Americas and even in the U.S. itself, in recent months, people have protested against this method and approach. This means that ultimately, public opinion becomes fed up with these oppressions, injustices, and unfairness. Public opinion can be temporarily distracted; but it cannot be completely and permanently misled. Therefore, their tricks will be revealed; just as they are being revealed in the world now.

Whoever raises the banner of Islamic justice and any country or system that stands by it will attract the attention of the people. We hope that God Almighty will help the dear, brave, noble, and self-sacrificing nation of Iran, just as they have been able to keep this banner raised today, and that their successes will increase day by day, and that the attention of the Awaited One (may our souls be sacrificed for him) will be upon the Iranian nation and its officials and all of us, and God willing, the blessings and mercy and divine grace will descend upon the pure soul of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) and the pure spirits of the martyrs, especially the martyrs of the Seventh of Tir.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.