Statements of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in Meeting with Judicial Officials

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

We welcome our dear brothers and sisters; both the esteemed officials of the Judiciary and the dear and patient families of the martyrs of the Seventh of Tir.

It is noteworthy that the Judiciary Day or Judiciary Week is introduced with the name and memory of a great martyr; the martyrdom of distinguished figures of the Islamic Republic, among whom is the prominent martyr, the late Ayatollah Beheshti, along with some other officials of the Judiciary and other branches. It was a good idea to align the anniversary of the Judiciary's report with the anniversary of this great martyrdom. These martyrdoms are the backbone of the nation's movement. The incident of the Seventh of Tir and the martyrdom of the oppressed martyr, the late Dr. Beheshti, and his companions became a turning point for the great movement of the revolution towards its goals, after attempts were made to divert this movement in other directions.

These martyrdoms are a support; a support for the movement. Therefore, in our movement, in our responsibilities, we must always remember these great sacrifices and know that if today we have the ability and opportunity to serve the Islamic Republic and the Iranian nation in the Judiciary, the Executive, the Legislative, or other institutions of the country, it is thanks to those martyrdoms; it is in the shadow of those sacrifices. We must understand that what we have today has not come easily; precious lives were sacrificed, great individuals made sacrifices, valuable blood was shed so that this system, with their support, could increase its power day by day. We must appreciate these responsibilities, this ability to work, and these opportunities and act accordingly. Therefore, I see the coincidence of these two occasions as a fitting one, and we sincerely send our greetings to the pure souls of the martyrs of the Seventh of Tir (may God be pleased with them) and all the dear martyrs of Islam, the revolution, and the Sacred Defense, and we ask God to grant us the success to be able to move in their path, to act in their direction, and to rise up. This is something that must always be in our minds.

We have discussed many matters regarding the Judiciary so far; the esteemed officials of the Judiciary and various experts have expressed their views; both on the importance of this noble and effective branch, and on the challenges that truly face this path, as well as on the remedial measures that can be thought of and considered to address these significant issues. What is important is that we see what the Islamic Judiciary is for and what is expected of it? We must always compare this with where we stand; our advancements, the new works being done, the good and effective actions that are taken and move us forward, with the level of need and expectation that exists from us in this branch. This must always be in our consideration; that is, we should not be satisfied. Fortunately, in recent years, good actions have been taken in the Judiciary; significant and important works; some of these actions are fundamentally valuable and promising for good advancements, God willing, in the future. Just yesterday, the esteemed head of the Judiciary kindly provided a booklet that included various headings of actions that the Judiciary has initiated in recent years - following the announcement of the general policies of this branch and the second development plan of the Judiciary. These are valuable and significant works.

One point is that these works must be continued until they reach completion. One of the flaws that exists in the nature of most humans to some extent is that they reach a movement or a task with thirst, and as soon as this thirst subsides a little, they refrain from the continuity and persistence of the work. This must not happen. For example, consider the consolidation of old cases and the computerized accumulation of existing information in the Judiciary, or what exists today: referrals, resolutions, laws that are the reference for rulings, the rulings themselves, these must be compiled, computerized, made accessible, easy to reach and easy to handle. The initiation of this program is a blessed work; however, its effectiveness is when the entire program is completed. If it progresses fifty percent, sixty percent, and does not reach the end, it is like an unfinished task. It must go to the end. Or consider the actions that exist regarding various issues of the Judiciary: the issue of shortening the duration of investigations and inquiries or addressing cases or the reliability of rulings or the issue of prisons and such matters that are among the important issues of the Judiciary, for which good measures have been devised, many of which have already begun, but must be pursued to the end. What is important is the continuity of work and making work continuous. This is a point that various branches of the Judiciary, longitudinal or lateral branches that are working, must pay attention to; that works should not remain half-finished; they must be pursued until the main results are achieved.

Another point alongside this is that we - that is, the entire Judiciary - perform all these activities so that the Judiciary can find its deserving and rightful place in the Islamic society, in the actions of the people, in the reality of life, in the minds of the people - which I have referred to in previous years, or perhaps discussed in detail in some years - so that people feel secure alongside the Judiciary. I once mentioned that the ultimate goal for the Judiciary in practical terms is to reach a point where everyone in the country, in the Islamic society, feels that if someone wants to oppress them or has oppressed them, they can be assured that they will refer to the Judiciary and resolve their problem. This feeling must be created in the people. Everyone must feel that by referring to the Judiciary, they will attain their rights. This state must be established in the Islamic society.

If in resolving cases that are referred to the Judiciary, for example, eighty percent - even if not one hundred percent - is handled with precise, decisive, and fair consideration, this feeling will largely arise in the people that the Judiciary is their refuge. This feeling must be instilled in the people; that is, the people must understand that the Judiciary is responsible for establishing justice; this must be achieved. All these preliminaries are to create this state in society. If we have devised measures, exerted efforts, but see that this state of being a refuge and shelter in the public mindset has not been established, we must know that there is a flaw somewhere, and we must seek to identify it and resolve the problem. This is what the criterion and standard of action must be, and everyone must strive for it. This, of course, requires committed, capable, and educated elements, which, thanks be to God, we have many of in the Judiciary; compassionate, faithful, knowledgeable individuals, dedicated to their work, and responsible in the Judiciary, thank be to God, are not few at various levels.

Today, fortunately, the Judiciary is managed and presided over by Mr. Shahroudi - a scholar, jurist, and knowledgeable individual - which is a very good opportunity. The presence of such individuals and prominent personalities within the Judiciary provides good opportunities.

If we lack laws, these laws must be provided; if there are various institutions whose capacities have not been utilized, these capacities must be utilized. Last year, with the cooperation and assistance of Mr. Shahroudi, a committee was formed to examine the enhancement of the Judiciary, which he appointed, and several good brothers went to the Judiciary to study, to identify ways to enhance the Judiciary and its obstacles; a very good report was prepared and submitted to him, and a copy was given to us; very good solutions were proposed. I emphasized several points in following up on those solutions, one of which was to evaluate how much progress we have made in achieving the general policies. This is the work that must be done in the Judiciary. We have approved good policies, suitable general policies for the Judiciary, which were mainly proposals from the Judiciary itself and were sent for consultation to the Expediency Discernment Council and then were announced and declared; these are very good policies. We must constantly monitor and see how much these policies have been realized; this is the criterion and index of movement. We must see how much of these general policies, which are the specific goals of the Judiciary, have been realized? Where do we stand? This evaluation and accurate calendar of movement helps us. Sometimes a person thinks that from this path, which is one hundred kilometers long, they have traveled, for example, sixty kilometers, and when there is time, they say let’s sit down and rest; let’s have some tea. If the odometer works correctly, a person looks and sees that no, they have not come sixty kilometers, for example, let’s say they have come twenty kilometers, fifteen kilometers. When we realize that we have only traveled this much, we will naturally increase our speed and avoid stopping along the way. Therefore, knowing where we stand on the highway to reach the goals of those policies is very important; we have requested this as one of the priorities from the Judiciary; especially the issue of prolongation of proceedings, particularly in important cases, including significant economic corruption cases.

I do not believe in uproar and commotion in economic corruption cases, but I do believe in speed and decisiveness in work. Speed is different from haste; the speed of action differs from rush and haste. These cases that are of public concern - which I will now briefly mention the importance of this issue - particularly and generally in all cases, the issue of prolongation of proceedings must be taken into account. Of course, in the reports that have been provided, fortunately, it is also noted that the duration of case processing has somewhat decreased, but this must be compared with what “should be,” not with what “has been,” to see where we are and how much more work we need to do to reach that desired point.

Another point that is a priority, I have recommended, noted, and sent, is the issue of the reliability of rulings and repeated annulments, which I also raised here last year in this very session. The annulment of primary court rulings - whether in appellate courts or in the Supreme Court - must be minimized; that is, the reliability of rulings must be such that these rulings are less likely to be annulled. If we see that an unacceptable percentage of these rulings are annulled, we must know that this is a point of flaw. This is also among the priorities.

Another point is the issue of solving prison problems. This matter must be taken very seriously. Of course, the policy of reducing imprisonment - which has been among the policies of the esteemed head of the Judiciary and is part of these actions that have been decided and taken - is a very good thing; however, the existence of imprisonment and prisons is a reality. Our management in the matter of prisons must be such that prisons become, in the true sense of the word, schools of goodness. These must be considered among the significant works; regarded as important issues. These are matters that relate to the Judiciary itself. The relevant managements must make maximum efforts for this issue. Of course, regarding reducing the number of prisoners through pardons and leave, which also has lengthy discussions, we have shared the topic with the esteemed officials of the Judiciary and with the esteemed head of the Judiciary; we will discuss it; in any case, we must find a true remedy for these matters. This is among the priorities that have been identified and mentioned regarding the enhancement of the Judiciary.

One issue is the unrealized capacities, including the Ministry of Justice itself. Fortunately, the law has provided good capacities for the Ministry of Justice; these capacities must be utilized.

What is important is that we must utilize all the immense capacities of this branch - which, fortunately, as mentioned, our judicial system is fundamentally sound, logical, and advanced; it is a modern and strong and logical system - like a healthy lung that fills with clean air and ensures the health of the body, we must utilize all these capacities. This is also one of the priorities.

What I particularly find appropriate to emphasize today alongside the points I have made is the issue of pursuing economic corruption. Economic corruption should not merely be regarded as a wrongdoing in the country. If this matter is not pursued, not traced back, and various branches of the country do not cooperate to eradicate the roots of this issue, its impact and danger for the country will be very large and significant. Economic corruption also brings cultural and moral corruption with it. The existence and prevalence of economic corruption is one of its greatest dangers, as it undermines the good elements of the institutions, weakens their foundations. Many of these cases of economic corruption that have been specifically reported and brought to us have been such that the economic corruptor has deemed it necessary to infiltrate within a certain institution to advance their work and to win over some of the elements working there. Well, those elements working there are faithful individuals; however, the devil of desire, greed, and money entices them, and not everyone can withstand it; they become captivated, they slip; this is one of the greatest dangers of economic corruption.

Economic corruption delays proper and healthy investments in society. In that letter I wrote in the year 1380 - just this past Ordibehesht, seven years have passed since that letter - addressed to the esteemed heads of the three branches, I elaborated on these matters; economic corruption hinders healthy economic activity, discourages the faithful elements who want to engage in good economic activities, it is a plague, a serious illness; like a plague that comes to society, like contagious diseases that as soon as they arise, all branches - the Executive, the Legislative, the Judiciary - spring into action to stop it.

Of course, the role of the Judiciary in this matter is a prominent one; we have repeatedly communicated appropriate recommendations to the Executive branch, reminded them, and demanded from them; that is preserved in its place, but you brothers and sisters who are here and are related to the Judiciary, know that the Judiciary's share in combating economic corruption is a very heavy and important one.

Preventing the occurrence of corruption is also the responsibility of the Judiciary. Refer to the Constitution, you will see that one of the duties of the Judiciary in the Constitution is precisely this prevention. Well, prevention has its necessary tools, its appropriate institutions. Prevention will also involve the use of judicial agents; including security and intelligence agencies. All of these must be utilized in prevention. Within the Islamic country, a corrupt individual, a greedy person, a cunning and crafty person should not be able to exploit the public resources of the country, which belong to all classes - with so many poor and weak people in the country - and take them away without accountability. This must be countered. It is clear that this movement in the Judiciary, the Executive, and the Legislative - each within their own capacity - will create a reaction; they will not sit quietly, they will not remain silent. Some mix up the issue, ruin it; like the recent cases that have emerged in public discourse; these are ruining the essence of the matter; these are diverting from the original goal. One way is this, another way is to exert pressure, establish relationships, make phone calls, become intermediaries, and entrap individuals in a state of obligation. All of these must be countered. This is one of the great tasks.

This letter of ours, our demand, is from the year 1380; its date is from that time, but it always has a current date. Today, if you want the reality of society, the same demand, the same words, exist from us towards the officials of the three branches, which must be fulfilled. This should not be underestimated. And worse than anything is that within the responsible institutions, God forbid, these corrupting factors can infiltrate and turn individuals into their own kind or make them collaborators, which is one of the very important and catastrophic matters that must be faced with decisiveness and strength - in all its forms - and dealt with.

In any case, if these great works are carried out, which must be done - as fortunately, in these past few years, good works have been done, we have made progress; however, we are not satisfied with what has been done. When one observes the gap between our situation and the desired state, one sees that we still have a long way to go; we must run a lot - then the goal we mentioned will be achieved; that is, the Judiciary of the country will become a refuge and shelter for the oppressed classes, who may come from all strata, so that when someone oppresses someone or intends to oppress, the one who has been wronged can find solace in the thought that they will go to the Judiciary and rectify the injustice. This state must be established. You should look and see whether this state exists in society today or not. If it does not exist, know that you must pursue it and ensure it.

May God Almighty assist in the advancement of these works. We are obliged to exert all our efforts, all our struggles, and seek blessings from God Almighty that He grants blessings to this movement, God willing, and be assured that He will. If we start the work with sincerity, with purity, with complete motivation, God Almighty will facilitate it, and we can, God willing, advance the work; just as we have made significant progress so far, God willing, this progress will increase in the future. We hope that God Almighty assists all of you and your services, your efforts, your compassionate endeavors, and your appreciated services, and God willing, may they be accepted by His Holiness, the Awaited Savior (may our souls be sacrificed for him) and may the pure soul of our great Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) and the pure souls of the martyrs - especially the martyrs of the Seventh of Tir - God willing, be pleased and satisfied with all of us.

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