Concept of State in the Judicial Precedent of the Court of Administrative Justice

Concept of State is one of the multi-dimensional concepts of the Science of Law. One of its dimensions is to consider a State as a manifestation of sovereign political body or as the executive power. In the Iranian judicial system, the Court of Administrative Justice (CAJ) is the judicial body which deals with complaints lodged by the people against governmental officers and units. Since claims are made against the State, it is necessary to define the concept of State from the viewpoint of the CAJ. This definition has impact on the determination of the State’s jurisdiction and its legal status and even on individuals lodging complaints against the State. This paper basically examines the following question: Is “State” in the CAJ’s judicial precedent considered as the whole sovereign body or as the executive power? In addition, this paper investigates what is the meaning of the State in such precedent. It also responds to the following questions: Does any organization, unit or company which can be described as governmental can be considered as part of the State or should such bodies or their capitals belong to the State to be considered as governmental? How does the CAJ deal with complaints in accordance with its definition of the concept of State? How does the CAJ refrain from dealing with some claims by certain bodies, on the ground that it considers them as governmental? How does such interpretation affect the jurisdiction of the CAJ and general courts and the rights of people and governmental organizations and units? In this paper, the CAJ’s judgments are divided into two categories, depending on unidimensional and dual dimensional concepts of State, and then these judgments are analysed.