Statements in Meeting with Officials of the Judiciary

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

Thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our master and prophet, Abu al-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his pure and chosen progeny, especially the Awaited One among the inhabitants of the earth.

Welcome, dear brothers and esteemed officials of the judiciary, who bear one of the most significant responsibilities in the country. I congratulate you on the occasion of Eid al-Ghadir. I also congratulate you on the birth of Imam Hadi (peace be upon him), which is today. We honor the memory of the distinguished martyrs of the judiciary, dear martyr Beheshti and other martyrs, especially the recent martyrs, among whom is the late Mr. Raisi (may God be pleased with him), who has a good and distinguished record in the judiciary. We cherish the memory of all these dear martyrs; may God elevate their ranks and reward their efforts. I sincerely thank the honorable staff of the judiciary—whether managers, judges, or administrative personnel—for their efforts. As Mr. Mohseni mentioned, and I am not unaware, thanks be to God, good efforts are being made in the judiciary; we are very grateful for your hard work. I especially thank the esteemed head of the judiciary. We hear from him in our meetings about the work being done in the judiciary; we provide reminders, and we hear reports; they are working well, thanks be to God. Besides the positive aspects that Mr. Mohseni possesses, this is also an important point and, thanks be to God, a virtue in him that he knows the judiciary and, due to his long tenure here, is familiar with the components, aspects, and characteristics of this institution, which is a significant strength. In any case, we thank all of you.

I would like to say a few words about the judiciary. The report he provided was a good report; the work that has been done is valuable and commendable. The main issue in the judiciary everywhere in the world—not just in our country—is the resolution of people's issues based on justice; this is one, and the other is preventing the crossing of the legal red lines; this is the foundation of the judiciary's work. Therefore, you observe that in our country, the judiciary has been referred to from the beginning as "Adliyyah" or "Justice." The issue in the judiciary is fundamentally about "justice"; this is the foundation of the work. All attention must primarily focus on ensuring justice in the disputes among people and in the grievances that arise. The large number of incoming cases that were mentioned are indeed grievances; attention must be paid to the issue of upholding justice in these matters.

In Islam, which you gentlemen are all well aware of, the issue of justice is a prominent point in Islamic teachings; in the Quran, in Nahj al-Balagha, in traditions, in the noble verses of the Quran: وَ اِن حَکَمتَ فَاحکُم بَینَهُم بِالقِسط; (If you judge, judge between them with justice) in another place: وَ اِذا قُلتُم فَاعدِلوا; (And when you speak, be just) in another place: اِنَّ اللَهَ یَأمُرُ بِالعَدل; (Indeed, God commands you to be just) in another place: قُل اَمَرَ رَبّی بِالقِسط; (Say: My Lord has commanded justice) in another place: وَ اُمِرتُ لِاَعدِلَ بَینَکُم; (And I have been commanded to judge among you with justice) in another place: کونوا قَوّامینَ بِالقِسطِ شُهَداءَ لِلَّهِ وَ لَو عَلی اَنفُسِکُم اَوِ الوالِدَینِ وَ الاَقرَبین; (Be steadfast in justice, witnesses for God, even if it be against yourselves or your parents or your relatives) in another place: وَ لا یَجرِمَنَّکُم شَنَآنُ قَومٍ عَلی اَلّا تَعدِلوا; (And let not the hatred of a people prevent you from being just) and many other verses. The axis is justice; that is, there is hardly any point like justice emphasized in the Holy Quran and in other Islamic sources. The result is that all efforts of the judiciary, with courage, must be directed towards establishing justice. Of course, as I mentioned, this is not an easy task; it requires courage. One must enter this realm with courage and implement justice without consideration; fair and impartial judgment. Just as in the Sahifa Sajjadiyya, the Imam states in the twenty-second supplication: I should act in such a way that "حَتّیٰ یَأمَنَ عَدُوّی مِن ظُلمی وَ جَوری وَ یَیاَسَ وَلیّی مِن مَیلی وَ انحِطاطِ هَوای" (so that my enemy feels secure from my oppression and injustice, and my friend is not disappointed by my bias and the decline of my desires). The judiciary and the judge and the manager should act in such a way that the enemy feels secure from oppression and injustice, and the friend and close one becomes hopeless from favoritism. If this happens, then judicial security, spiritual and psychological security will be established in society; that is, people will feel secure. It is very important that people feel that with the existence of the judiciary, they will not be oppressed, and if they raise a grievance, it will be addressed fairly. This is the essence of the matter; in order for this justice to be realized, I have noted two or three points that I would like to mention.

The first point is that the judiciary must operate with a "program," entering with a plan, which has been mentioned that, thanks be to God, there are good programs. The transformation documents—whether the document that was prepared earlier or the document that was revised later, and I have recently heard that this document has been updated; those who have seen it are aware and describe it—these documents are very good, but what concerns me is that these good documents have not had much impact on the major indicators of the judiciary.

These documents are very good. Now I will mention a few of the indicators that I am quoting from the written report of the judiciary that was sent. For example, the duration of proceedings; one of the major indicators is that the duration of proceedings should be shortened.

The annulment of primary court rulings; I have repeatedly emphasized that when the system sits, judges review a case, issue a ruling, and then the ruling is annulled in the appellate court, this indicates that the initial ruling was weak. All this effort has been expended, time, money, and human resources have been spent, yet the result has not been satisfactory. The annulment of primary court rulings must be reduced; however, it has not decreased, despite the fact that these documents are strong and good.

Or the reports and complaints that have reached the inspection organization; these have increased, not decreased. That is, such indicators exist. You must draft the document in such a way and implement it in such a way that it has a tangible effect on these indicators. Now we must see whether the problem lies in deficiencies in the document; or whether the document was good, but the implementation program was not good; this must be investigated; in my opinion, it is one of the important tasks that the esteemed head of the judiciary should assign individuals to investigate where the fault lies; whether it is due to the document being unimplementable or a problem in the execution of the document.

One of the most significant obstacles to the judiciary achieving its desired status is the large number of cases, which puts pressure on the judges. One of the reasons for the weakness in judges' rulings is that the pressure on the judge increases, time is limited, and sometimes these so-called end-of-month statistics may also be ineffective in some cases; these lead to the rulings and judgments issued not being strong and decisive. A fundamental and correct solution must be devised for the large number of cases, which is also your responsibility.

One of the things that I believe is necessary to be done in the judiciary is the enhancement of judges' knowledge. We have, thanks be to God, competent judges in the judiciary, but the judiciary is vast. All judges must be elevated in judicial knowledge. I have heard that the University of Judicial Sciences has good capacity in this regard; maximum use should be made of this capacity. [Enhancing] judicial knowledge; if this is done, many problems will be alleviated; that is, mastery of judicial knowledge will lead to cases being handled more thoroughly and more quickly.

Another necessary task is that, thanks be to God, among the honorable judges and hardworking staff of the judiciary—who are not few, thanks be to God; this vast institution has a large number of good staff and judges—there are individuals who truly work with a jihadist spirit; those who work with a jihadist spirit should be strengthened. In any case, the essence of the matter, in my opinion, is that action should be taken in such a way that public opinion recognizes the judiciary as a "house of justice," a center of justice, and that in the judiciary, rights are upheld without consideration; that is the issue. Of course, the work that is done on the periphery of these issues is valuable work; those mentioned are valuable works, but the main task is that the court session should be a session of fair judgment, and the outcome of the court session should be justice; a justice that everyone feels is justice; even the one against whom a ruling is issued, of course, may be dissatisfied, may protest, but in his heart, he recognizes that a fair action has been taken.

Another recommendation that I have mentioned before is the speed of proceedings in cases that involve detainees and prisoners. Sometimes reports reach our public offices that are concerning; someone is in prison, their case is ongoing, yet the necessary speed in handling the case is not observed. Well, this prisoner is suffering; ultimately, their situation must be clarified sooner; this is a very important point. Or some have problems in prison that are unsolvable; someone is in prison due to a financial issue, and because they cannot pay [their debt], this financial debt is increasing day by day, and accordingly, their imprisonment is prolonged. Some people, when you look at them, you see that they must remain in prison for the rest of their lives, and in the end, the money is not paid; this must be addressed. I once told the judiciary that in some cases, you can even use funds from religious dues; I am very strict regarding the expenditure of Imam's share from religious dues; that is, I do not allow the construction of mosques and similar projects from Imam's share, but I believe that in such cases, it is permissible to use religious dues; the problem must be solved, and remedies must be found.

One of the other recommendations I want to mention is that I have heard that some esteemed judges cite Western human rights principles in their judicial rulings! This is incorrect. Those principles are fundamentally flawed; now they themselves do not even act upon them—clear signs of this are evident today in the world before everyone's eyes that they do not even act upon them—but fundamentally, the principles are incorrect; our judges cannot cite anything other than the domestic laws of the country for their rulings; it must be done according to domestic laws.

The last recommendation is regarding the useful visits that he (the head of the judiciary) is making; these visits should continue and are beneficial and necessary; they are a sign of the judiciary's connection to the people, and they provide insight into the problems; these are very important; however, attention must be paid to ensure that what results from these visits, what is obtained and concluded from the visits, is followed up and brought to fruition. Suppose that people become hopeful when the head of the judiciary visits customs or some other agency or point; they hope that the head of the judiciary will identify and resolve the issues; this hope arises in the people. If that issue is not resolved, hope turns into despair and is worse than before; that is, it must be followed up to ensure that it is accomplished, God willing. These are my remarks regarding the judiciary.

One word about the elections. Thanks be to God, good television programs are being conducted, providing familiarity to the people regarding the opinions and views of various candidates. My recommendation is that the discussions that the candidates have on television or the statements they make in gatherings or individually should not lead to a candidate saying something to overcome their rival that would please the enemy; enemy-pleasing statements should not be made; this is an important point. Sometimes statements may be issued that please the enemy of the country, the nation, and the Islamic Republic; this is not permissible. The statements made should be such that they do not make the enemy of the country, the enemy of the system, or the enemy of the people happy. It is assumed that all these gentlemen love Iran and the Islamic Republic; that is the assumption; they want to be the president in this system and work for these people. They should speak in a way that does not please the enemy.

We hope, God willing, that day by day, our judiciary will come closer to the desired point that Mr. Mohseni referred to and reach that point, and may God Almighty assist and grant success so that all affairs of the country proceed according to His pleasure. We hope that the pure souls of the martyrs are pleased with you, that the spirit of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) is pleased with you, and that divine blessings, God willing, encompass all of you.

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