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| Musa Barzin |
Recently, lawyers and law professors in various provinces of Iran have protested against the draft regulations being prepared by Iran’s judiciary regarding the "Independence of the Bar Association."
Speaking to Voice of America, lawyer Musa Berzin stated, "Iran's Judiciary wants to take control of the lawyers' work. It wants to decide who can be a lawyer and who cannot. It wants to decide who gets a license to practice law and who doesn't. It also wants to form the Bar Association system itself. This is what lawyers are protesting."
In the interview, Berzin discussed both the current restrictions faced by lawyers and the potential changes that could arise with the implementation of the new regulations.
According to Berzin, "After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, lawyers were also affected by it. The leaders of the Revolution and the judiciary officials of that time believed that there is no such thing as a lawyer in Islam. They thought that the judge is just, is an expert, and cannot make mistakes. Therefore, there was no need for a lawyer. Based on this view, pressure on lawyers began. Bar associations were closed, many lawyers were arrested, and until 1997, we can say that the judiciary controlled the lawyers' associations."
Berzin explains the current problems as follows: "Every new law that is adopted in some way undermines the independence of the Bar and the lawyers. For example, they reduced lawyers' rights to intervene in the judicial process. Article 187 was passed, allowing the judiciary to issue licenses for lawyers. In other words, it created a parallel structure to the Bar associations. This continues today. Then, they limited the right of lawyers to access files related to security charges. They appointed certain lawyers who could only represent defendants accused of political and security crimes. Many defendants do not trust these lawyers. Imagine, they select 20 lawyers out of thousands and say that only these lawyers can represent clients in certain cases. We also see that some of these lawyers were previously judges who retired and then started practicing law. Many Turkish activists also face problems because of this law."
He adds, "The issue is that the lawyer should stand by the defendant and be their defense tool. If decisions are made, and lawyers are under the control of the court, justice will not be served."
According to the lawyer, "The judiciary wants to make changes to the law that would further reduce the independence of lawyers. A few months ago, the judiciary sent a proposed regulation to the Bar associations. This regulation outlines how lawyers will practice, how they will be regulated, and how the associations will operate. The current conflict is over this. Lawyers do not accept the judiciary dictating regulations for them. Lawyers should write their own administrative rules and regulations."
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Musa Bərzin: İranın Məhkəmə Hakimiyyəti Vəkillər Kollegiyasını tamamən kontrol altına almaq istəyir