Controversies Surrounding the Cancellation of Raisi's Deputy's Appointment; Government's 'Anger' and the Administrative Justice Court President's 'Explanation' and Defense

Following the annulment of the appointment of the head of the Administrative and Recruitment Organization by the Administrative Justice Court, the government's official newspaper, 'Iran', labeled the ruling as 'political'. In contrast, the President of the Administrative Justice Court announced that 65% of the members of the 'General Board' agreed with the annulment. In response to the controversies surrounding this ruling, the President of the Administrative Justice Court stated in a meeting with the Chief Justice and other senior officials that 65% of the General Board members supported the annulment of Meysam Latifi's appointment, while 35% opposed it. The Mizan news agency, affiliated with the judiciary, reported that a complaint had been filed to annul the ruling issued by the President regarding the appointment of Meysam Latifi as Vice President and head of the Administrative and Recruitment Organization, which ultimately led the specialized board to rule for annulment. Judge Ali Mozaffari, the President of the Administrative Justice Court, explained that after obtaining a response from the legal deputy of the President and preparing a report by the presiding judge, the government's representatives' defenses were heard in a session on May 13, 2023, and the majority opinion of the specialized administrative and recruitment board concluded that this appointment violated Article 47 of the Civil Service Management Law. The basis of the complaint against Meysam Latifi's appointment was its contradiction with Article 47 of the Civil Service Management Law, which prohibits the employment of employees from private companies and institutions for performing all or part of the duties and powers of organizational positions in executive bodies 'under any title'. Therefore, since Meysam Latifi, as a faculty member of Imam Sadiq University, which is a 'private university', could not hold an organizational position and serve as the head of the Administrative and Recruitment Organization. However, the government-affiliated newspaper reacted to this ruling by criticizing the judiciary, stating that an individual had 'exercised their political views' in handling this complaint. The Iran newspaper ultimately questioned the judiciary's performance in other cases, stating that the issue is that 'the public demand remains for dealing with corruption at every level' and that 'the sad story of Akbar Tabari should not be sidelined by the publication of certain news and actions. The people are waiting for the final ruling on Akbar Tabari.' Ali Bahadori Jahromi, the government's spokesperson, also reacted to the ruling of the Administrative Justice Court on July 9, stating that the government has taken necessary legal actions through the legal deputy of the presidency to appeal the recent ruling of the Administrative Justice Court and is awaiting final review by the judiciary. Mohammad Dehghan, the legal deputy of Ebrahim Raisi, also reacted to this action by the judiciary's subsidiary, stating to the state news agency 'IRNA' that the 'President's authority' for appointing deputies 'is in accordance with constitutional principles' and is not subject to judicial oversight and the jurisdiction of the Administrative Justice Court. He also mentioned writing and sending a letter to the Chief Justice and the President of the Administrative Justice Court to implement 'Article 91' of the law on the organization and procedure of this court, which pertains to 'suspending the execution of the ruling' and 'reviewing' the issued ruling. On Tuesday, news about the government's request for reconsideration to implement Article 91 was also published in official media. According to Article 91 of the law on the organization and procedure of this court, 'if the Chief Justice or the President of the Court or twenty members of the General Board find any of the General Board's rulings or the definitive rulings of specialized boards to be erroneous or contrary to the law, the President of the Court refers the matter for re-examination to the General Board. If the General Board finds the issued ruling to be erroneous or contrary to the law, it will act to annul it and issue a correct ruling.' Iranian media reported on July 9 that the General Board of the Administrative Justice Court ruled to 'annul the appointment' of Meysam Latifi, the head of the Administrative and Recruitment Organization of the Islamic Republic. The Deputy of Raisi: The Administrative Justice Court does not have the authority to annul the appointment of the head of the Administrative and Recruitment Organization. The publication of the Administrative Justice Court's ruling in favor of the government rejected the workers' complaint against the wage decree. A warning from a worker member of the Supreme Labor Council: If wage restoration is not carried out, we will take further steps. The Islamic Republic government is implementing; ranking of executive bodies based on the 'Hijab Law'. Repeated changes in working hours of offices; an economic expert stated: Managing the country in a 'heads or tails' manner.