Statements in Meeting with the President and Officials of the Judiciary

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Thanks be to God, Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our master Muhammad and his pure family, especially the Remaining One of God on earth.

Welcome, dear brothers and sisters, esteemed staff of the very sensitive Judiciary, whose efforts in this judiciary system of the country, due to its great importance, are truly rewarded doubly; God willing, may you be successful and supported.

First, I would like to point out the importance of these days; you who are servants of the Islamic system and, God willing, have esteem and honor before the Almighty God, strengthen your heartfelt connection with God as much as you can during these days, especially in these last couple of days of the magnificent first decade of Dhul-Hijjah. Value the Day of Arafah, which is tomorrow, and truly seek to resolve your issues with prayers, supplication, and attention to the Almighty God. If it were not for God's grace and mercy, our efforts and the hardships we endure would lead nowhere. In the noble supplication of Kumayl, it is stated: "None can attain that except by Your grace"; meaning we perform all our duties, but what gives spirit and life to our efforts and responsibilities is God's grace, mercy, and attention. Of course, one can connect with God at all times; establishing a relationship with God is easy, but some hours and days have a special significance; at the top of these days is tomorrow, the Day of Arafah; the Day of Sacrifice is similar.

Let us remember the martyr Beheshti (may God be pleased with him), as the designation of this day commemorates that great martyr. The late Beheshti (may God’s mercy be upon him) not only had a high scientific rank in both rational and transmitted sciences, but he was also a truly distinguished scholar and a person of great moral and professional qualities that can serve as a lesson for all of us. First, he was very hardworking; he never showed fatigue from work and devoted all his energy to it. He was very organized; throughout the many years of acquaintance and cooperation with him, both before and after the revolution, I have never seen anyone among our friends and associates as organized as the late Beheshti. Organization is very important. He was innovative, patient; he did not get upset in the face of even insulting objections; he listened to the words, even the opposing views, and patiently heard them. All these qualities are lessons for us; we must learn to act in this manner. He was not a showy person; he did not display ostentation; no, we had seen for many long years that his inner self was the same as what he showed outwardly. God Almighty granted him the worthy reward of the best of His servants, which was martyrdom at the hands of the most wicked of the wicked during that time, a gift from God to this faithful and righteous servant.

Regarding the Judiciary, there are many things to discuss; both in terms of reminders and expressions of gratitude; one can express gratitude and also give reminders; there is much to say. The points that Mr. Mohseni expressed here were important; I have heard and am aware of many of these matters through various reports. He expressed significant points. One of Mr. Mohseni's merits is his familiarity with the intricacies of the Judiciary; he has been present in this institution for years. I will share a few remarks on these matters.

First, the importance of the Judiciary. You who are serving in this institution, whether as judges—be it court judges or prosecutors—or as employees in any capacity, know that you are working in one of the most important pillars of the Islamic system, which cannot be compared to many other places. The Judiciary is truly one of the main pillars in establishing the Islamic system. It is evident that if there is a disruption in these main pillars, there will be a disruption in the entire system. Therefore, your work is very important. Correspondingly, if mistakes occur here, the impact will also be significant; this is how it is; when a person's position is elevated, both their positive and negative actions have profound effects. You are in this position; your good work has a significant impact on improving people's lives and advancing the Islamic system; God forbid, if you make a mistake, the same applies. I mentioned important matters in our annual meeting last year; I do not wish to repeat them or elaborate; I will only emphasize a few points. The actions we discussed last year, I learned at that time that a headquarters was established in the Judiciary to follow up on those actions. There have been good advancements in some of those actions, while in others, there has been no progress; ultimately, work was done, arrangements were made, and the establishment of these arrangements to advance the work is significant and noteworthy; however, I would like to mention one point: do not base your judgment on the work you have done; base your judgment on the output of the work. For example, consider that we held this many meetings regarding a particular issue; these are not the criteria; the criterion is what the result was, what the output of the work was; this is how it is in all matters of the country. Statistics are important, but it must be shown what the output of these statistics and the matters discussed is; that is what is important. The final product is what matters, what reaches the people.

The first matter I want to address is the issue of transformation in the Judiciary. The Judiciary has over forty years of experience and trial and error; this is very important. For over forty years, we have witnessed various plans, programs, and actions in the Judiciary, and this accumulated and dense experience provides valuable insights for experts; this is very valuable; these experiences must be utilized for transformation. We have defined transformation; transformation means strengthening the positive points and reducing the negative points to zero; this is the meaning of transformation. Sometimes, reducing negative points to zero requires significant organizational changes; changes must be made in the organization; sometimes, directional changes must be made; a few cases may require changes in personnel; transformation requires these things; this is transformation.

A transformational plan was prepared in the Judiciary several years ago. The experts who have spoken with me about this plan over the past few years or have provided written reports all say this plan is a good and solid plan. This plan is now at your disposal, at the disposal of the Judiciary. I emphasized it last year as well. This plan must progress; its progress has been limited. You must move towards the realization and operationalization of the transformation plan and the document of transformation of the Judiciary. Of course, it requires a budget, which the government and parliament must assist with; it requires capable personnel, and in some areas, thank God, there are capable personnel, while in others, there may need to be some discussion about strengthening capable and strong personnel. Some aspects of the document may also need to change; after all, no document is permanent and eternal.

Some aspects may need to be updated; this is another point. Review the document, see where it needs completion, where it needs updating, and bring it up to date; however, it must be acted upon. The virtue of this document and any program document is that it organizes the work; it prevents scattered efforts, and work proceeds in an organized manner; this is very valuable and important. Of course, it also requires law. Some aspects of the document's implementation require legislation, which the parliament must also assist with; you must demand this from the government and parliament to provide the necessary laws for you.

Since I mentioned that transformation in the Judiciary requires capable personnel, I would like to take this opportunity to emphasize the importance of building specialized personnel, nurturing specialized personnel; this is one of the very necessary tasks. The Judiciary must have a ready and specialized team in each of its sections that can be utilized whenever necessary—whether for changes, additions, or transformations. This issue of succession planning that I have mentioned regarding various institutions is exemplified here in the nurturing of specialized personnel that I have mentioned. This is one point that I emphasize. Take the document seriously with the characteristics I have mentioned.

The next issue is the fight against corruption, both within the Judiciary and outside it; one of your duties is this. Of course, I also mentioned to Mr. Mohseni, whom I met a couple of days ago, that the fight against corruption within the Judiciary is important. A decisive majority—close to all—of the Judiciary's personnel are honorable people, both judges and employees; they perform hard work with limited resources and low income—truly low income. The honor of these dear ones should not be overlooked. There is a small minority that abuses their position and tarnishes the image of the Judiciary in the eyes of the people. The person who commits such acts, meaning the wrongdoing, is not necessarily a judge; sometimes, for example, a clerk in a distant court may take an action, and this is amplified and dominates the Judiciary, and based on that, judgments are made about the Judiciary. It is a shame for it to be this way. This must be fought against. All components of the Judiciary must ensure that corruption does not enter. Corruption is also contagious. God forbid, when corruption enters one area, this disease spreads; it increases day by day. When corrupt individuals are not confronted, corruption increases. This is the case within the Judiciary, and the same applies outside it.

Of course, outside the Judiciary, others are also responsible for preventing corruption; that is, sometimes a corruption occurs, the source of which is not the Judiciary, but the executive or legislative branches, or the armed forces; they must prevent the sources and origins of corruption. Of course, if it is not cut off, if it is not prevented, then it is the duty of the Judiciary to intervene. Of course, today, malicious and ill-hearted individuals, those who truly have "disease in their hearts," spread rumors against the Judiciary, sometimes create uproar, sometimes say something, much more than the reality of what exists in the Judiciary, but do not let it; pursue this. This is the second point we discussed regarding corruption.

Another issue that I have noted here and is among the sources of corruption, and we mentioned that it is in the hands of other institutions, is the issue of invalidating informal transactions in real estate; this is important. Many corruptions regarding real estate arise from these informal and ordinary transactions; this must be prevented. And it is truly the case that if, from the perspective of the esteemed Guardian Council, there is a flaw in this law of the parliament, the absolute interest of the system and the country is that this law be pursued; that is, this method that is currently prevalent, where two lines are written and transferred, and so on, is itself a source of significant corruption. This is also this matter.

The next matter is regarding the other duties of the Judiciary. When you refer to the Constitution, you see that the duties of the Judiciary are not limited to adjudicating in courts or prosecutorial offices, resolving disputes and similar matters; it is not just this; other important duties are assigned to the Judiciary in the Constitution. For example, one of them is the restoration of public rights; public rights are very important. Identifying public rights is one issue; restoring them is another issue that is very difficult. For instance, if I want to give an example, one of the public rights is the psychological security of society. The fact that a group sits there and constantly disturbs the peace of mind of the people, whether through social media or otherwise, scares the people and disrupts their mental security, is contrary to the restoration of public rights, and the Judiciary must intervene. Of course, I am aware that in some cases and instances, the prosecutors have intervened and done some work, but this must be done with planning and discipline; this work must be done according to rules; this area is lacking, and for example, these works must be done.

Or "ensuring legitimate freedoms"; one of the duties of the Judiciary is to ensure legitimate freedoms. It is written very precisely; it is not absolute freedom, but legitimate freedom. Legitimate freedom is that which is permitted by Sharia. This is the Constitution. Under the command of Sharia, the freedoms of the people must be ensured. Well, the power apparatuses naturally encounter opposition in some cases; who should address the people's grievances in this regard? The Judiciary; that is, one of the important tasks of the Judiciary is this. Or, for example, preventing the occurrence of crime, which is one of those areas where other institutions also play a role; these are matters that are explicitly stated in the Constitution and must be planned for. These are not issues that can be resolved through talking, making occasional decisions, or individual and presidential decisions; these require planning, directives, methods, and sometimes laws; these must be pursued. And these tasks require a well-thought-out and considered mechanism; we must sit down, think, and deliberate. Well, these are the legal capacities of the Judiciary that must be maximally utilized.

Another point is the issue of dealing with applicants, which we have mentioned before and has been done in some places; this has a significant impact; that is, when someone approaches the Judiciary, if they are met with a frown by the person they are approaching, they leave disappointed, even if you frown and then attend to their case, this still has the same negative impact, and it does not matter; that is, a good interaction is necessary. Of course, it is a difficult task; I know; that is, public inquiries can sometimes truly exhaust a person; in the nature of interaction and inquiries, one can become fatigued, and one’s nerves can be frayed, but one must endure.

And the last point I want to mention is the media image of the Judiciary. The Judiciary does not have a good media image; the media and advertising are not properly utilized in this institution and for this institution. Of course, part of it relates to media outlets such as radio, television, and newspapers, and part of it also relates to the Judiciary itself. May God have mercy on the late Mr. Mousavi Ardabili; at that time, he complained to us about the state television; he said, "The news of the Judiciary comes after the news of the quality of the road to Jiroft, which is blocked or snow has fallen!" His complaint was this. Of course, it is not like that now; thank God, it has improved in this regard, but the image of the Judiciary, all the work that has been done, must be known to the people; the people must be informed about these matters. Now, the point that Mr. Mohseni mentioned, this interaction with various groups, is very important; both in terms of form, it is an important task, a significant task, and in terms of results, it is important; well, the Judiciary expands, its thinking opens up, horizons become clearer before it. Sit with jurists, with various individuals, economic experts, political experts, students, young people who have claims, have words, professors, merchants, clergy; this interaction with them is very important; well, these must be reflected; reflected correctly; that is, accurate reporting must be done.

And God willing, may the Almighty God assist you in bridging the gap that they repeated—that we have a distance to the desired state, which is indeed true, there is a distance—may you be able to fill this gap soon.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.