The Principle of "Prohibition of Appealing to Tyrant Rulers" and Its Review

Judgment is among the functions of ruler and، according to Shiite fiqh، an infallible Imam (peace be upon him) has an exclusive right to rule. Therefore، no one other than infallible Imam must assign the judge. If a ruler other than infallible Imam holds the power and assigns a judge، the assigned judge is not legitimate because the ruler himself is not legitimate. As a result، such an assigned judge is not allowed to intervene in and deal with the affairs of others. Hence، it is not legitimate to appeal to this judge because he is not allowed to intervene and make decisions، which follows that referring to tyrants is forbidden. Among the effects of this prohibition is that arresting the charged party is not permissible even if the issued decision conforms to reality. The other effects are that retaliation and acceptance of judgment are not permissible. The present paper studies this principle and its effects.