Criticism and Analysis of unanimous verdict number 791 issued on 17/04/1399

In Iran’s law, contrary to some other countries, judges are liable for faults or errors they commit in their professional duties. Principle 171 of the constitution, article 30 of the law of supervision on judges conduct and article 24 of its regulation, describe the right to and the course of claiming loss due to fault or error of the judge. Courts’ different interpretation of these articles in relation to manner and process of trial of such litigations resulted in issuance of unanimous verdict number 791 by the supreme court of Iran. In the writer’s opinion, this verdict cannot guarantee some constitutional rights of individuals. The mandate to follow the order of referring to superior judicial disciplinary court and then to public court, impedes accessibility of courts for individual lawsuits (Principle 34). Furthermore, if the writ of non-suit is issued for not following the order indicated by this verdict, procedure of trial will be more costly and time consuming for the plaintiff and also will create distrust towards the judicial system in general public. Therefore, contrary to the order indicated by the unanimous verdict number 791, it seems that not mandating to follow such order, will be more aligned with interpretation in favor of plaintiffs based on their constitutional rights.