The Leader and Consultative Viewpoints of the State Expediency Council, with Special Reference to Imam Khomeini's Viewpoints

After the revision of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the role of consultation to the leader was delegated to the State Expediency Council. Among the important issues in this regard is the responsibility of the Leader towards the consultative viewpoints and decisions of the State Expediency Council. It is not clear whether the Leader is obliged to accept the viewpoints of the Council if his viewpoints are in contradiction with those of the Council. There is no reference to this issue in the Constitution either. The present article is an attempt to study the viewpoints of the jurisprudents as well as those of Imam Khomeini on this issue through a critical-analytical approach. In Imam Khomeini’s viewpoints consultation with the experts aims to find out the truths and discover different aspects of a matter and hence abidance by the viewpoints of the consultants is necessary only when the person who receives the consultation is not enough expert in that field; but, if he enjoys the necessary expertise, he can decide on the issue even if his viewpoint is contrary to that of the majority.