The Structural Pathology of Exclusive Supervisory Authorities in the Administrative-Contract Law of Iran

Supervising administrative contracts is necessary for an administrative system to provide efficient services to the public. It is important to note that administrative contracts are the most significant gate to corruption in governmental administrations. Therefore, controlling this kind of corruption is essential for increasing the efficiency of the government and protecting the rights of the public. Supervising administrative contracts is a legal mechanism which prevents corruption by high-ranking officials and guarantees public rights. In this paper, the characteristics of administrative contracts and the methods and bodies for their oversight within the Iranian legal system will be examined. The findings of the study show that in Iranian legal system, the oversight of administrative contracts is insufficient due to ambiguities in the relevant laws and regulation and the lack or weakness of exclusive supervisory authorities. It seems that the enactment of a specific law on the oversight of administrative contracts will solve this problem.