One-Day Strike by the Alborz Bar Association in Protest Against the Parliament's Approach to Bar Associations

The board of the Alborz Bar Association approved in its meeting yesterday that in response to the 'current legislative approach' regarding 'this ancient and independent institution' and to attract 'the attention of the representatives of the Islamic Consultative Assembly', the Alborz Bar Association will be closed on Tuesday, August 30, 1402. This one-day strike is a reaction to the actions of the representatives and the approval of 'a new regulation concerning the Bar Association'. In the public session yesterday, August 29, the Parliament continued its review of the plan known as 'financing and production leap through legal reforms' and approved a new regulation under Article 13 of this plan concerning the Bar Associations. According to the new regulation, Bar Associations are required to comply with the decisions of the 'Regulatory Deregulation Board'. On the other hand, the annulment of the decisions of this board has also been removed from the jurisdiction of the 'Administrative Justice Court' and entrusted to an institution under the Ministry of Economy. Previously, based on the decisions of the Regulatory Deregulation Board, Bar Associations and the National Registration Organization were required to connect to the national licensing portal, which had been annulled or suspended by the Administrative Justice Court. If the Parliament's decision is approved by the Guardian Council, Bar Associations will become one of the institutions under the Ministry of Economy. According to this regulation, which is similar to that in the seventh development plan, the issuance and annulment of licenses for legal practice will only be conducted through the national licensing portal. The Regulatory Deregulation Board of the Ministry of Economy can annul and correct the laws and regulations of the Bar Associations. Based on a clause that was approved yesterday, the issuance, renewal, expansion, modification, suspension, and annulment of any licenses for Bar Associations, official expert associations, and institutions under the judiciary such as the Center for Lawyers and Official Experts and Family Counselors of the Judiciary will 'only be conducted through the national licensing portal and electronically.' The approval of this clause is similar to another article currently under review in the seventh development plan, which has also been approved by the members of the joint commission. According to the website 'Vokala Press', the president of the Golestan Bar Association has pointed out the consequences of the approval of Article 4 of the seventh development plan in Parliament, stating that with the approval of this article, 'the institution of advocacy will become a subordinate entity of the government.' Taleb Zari emphasized that a significant part of the independence of Bar Associations lies in their independence in issuing and annulling licenses. He stated that in Article 4 of the seventh development plan, both the issuance and annulment of licenses have been stripped from the Bar Associations, leaving no independence for them, and this regulation will return Bar Associations to 70 years ago. The Alborz Bar Association is the first association to show such a reaction to the recent events in Parliament. A new case has been opened for a lawyer imprisoned in Evin; the crime: informing about pressures and threats against imprisoned protesters. Nasser Zarafshan: Farzaneh Zilabi is paying the price for her legal work. The mother of Maryam Arvin, a lawyer who died after her release, stated that the cause of death was 'IV connection' in prison.