A Note on the Controversies Surrounding the Trial of Hassan Rouhani, Former President

Abdollah Abdi - Abdi Media

According to the Constitution and the Code of Criminal Procedure, the examination of allegations against presidents, in cases related to their responsibilities, is handled by the Supreme Court. In this case, the investigation is also the responsibility of the Prosecutor's Office of the Supreme Court, led by the Attorney General.

Other matters are reviewed in the public courts of Tehran. Given the previous formation of a case in the criminal courts of Tehran against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, it seems that the appropriate jurisdiction for this case would be these courts. Of course, the initial investigation would take place in the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office of District 28 (specifically for government employees).

However, regarding the formation of this case, particularly as stated multiple times by the chairman of the Constitutional Law's Article 90 Commission, it is unclear to which authority these cases have been sent.

As for Hassan Rouhani, who is a cleric, according to the amended regulations for the Prosecutor's Office and Special Clergy Courts, if there is an accusation file in these authorities, the allegations will be investigated at the Special Clergy Prosecutor's Office in Tehran, where the deputy prosecutor or the special prosecutor of Tehran will conduct preliminary investigations.

Since the system of Special Clergy Prosecutor's Offices is based on the extraordinary powers of the "Attorney General or the appointed prosecutor," it is evident that the special prosecutor of the clergy in Tehran cannot take any specific action in important matters (including this potential case) without coordinating and obtaining permission from the appointed prosecutor.

Additionally, there is another practice in the Special Clergy Prosecutor's Offices that allows cases involving clergy or even non-clergy individuals to be referred to other judicial authorities for any reason, in which case the relevant judicial authorities will be permitted to investigate.

In any case, it must be noted that the investigation of allegations against presidents, regardless of who they are, is accompanied by considerations, complexities, consequences, and higher-level influences.