The following is the full text of the speech delivered on June 25, 2008 by Ayatollah Khamenei the Leader of the Islamic Revolution to the officials of the judiciary branch.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
I welcome you dear brothers and sisters, both the judiciary officials and the dear and patient families of the honorable martyrs of Tir 7 (June 28).
It is an important point that Judiciary Day or Judiciary Week is associated with the name and memory of a great case of martyrdom: the martyrdom of some great figures of the Islamic Republic including the prominent character and the dear martyr Ayatollah Beheshti and some other officials of the judiciary branch and other branches. It was a good idea to assign the occasion of commemorating this great martyrdom as the date for the judiciary to present its annual report. This martyrdom supports the movement of the nation. The Tir 7 ( June 28) event and the martyrdom of the innocent Shahid Beheshti and his companions was a turning point in the great movement of the Revolution towards its goals after they tried to divert this movement from its main course.
These cases of martyrdom support us. They support our movement. Therefore, we should always remember these great sacrifices in our movements and responsibilities, and we should know that if we have the opportunity and the ability in the judicial, executive, or the legislative branch or in other organizations of the country to serve the Islamic Republic and the Iranian nation, it is all due to the blessings which come from these great cases of martyrdom. This is due to those great sacrifices. We should know that what we currently possess has not been achieved easily. Many dear lives have been sacrificed on this path. Great people have made sacrifices, and valuable blood has been offered on this path. And the Islamic Republic, backed by these sacrifices, has managed to increase its power on a daily basis. We should appreciate these responsibilities, this ability to work, and these opportunities and work hard. Therefore, I consider the coincidence of these two occasions as an auspicious coincidence, and I extend my heartfelt greetings to the immaculate souls of the Tir 7 (June 28) martyrs and also to the souls of the dear martyrs of Islam, the Islamic Revolution, and the Sacred Defense era. I pray to Allah to bestow upon us the ability to continue their path, and to act and move towards their goals. This is what we should constantly keep in mind.
I have mentioned a lot of points about the judicial branch so far. The honorable officials of the judiciary and the experts have also mentioned some points, both concerning the importance of this honorable and influential branch and the problems that exist in treading this path as well as the solutions that can be provided in this regard in order to solve the problems. What is important is that we should know what the function of the judicial branch is in the Islamic Republic and what is expected of this branch. We should always compare this to where we currently are, to our achievements, and to the innovations which are introduced - the useful and influential measures which are taken and which help us move forward. It should be compared to what is required and expected from us in this branch. We should constantly keep this in mind. I mean we should never become complacent. Fortunately, important measures have been taken in the judiciary during the previous years. Great and important measures have been taken. Some of these measures have been completely fundamental and effective and are, God willing, indicative of great progress in the future. The honorable head of the judiciary presented a report to me yesterday which consisted of several parts about the important measures taken by the judiciary during the recent years, following the announcement of the general policies of the branch and the second development plan of the judiciary. The measures are great and valuable.
One important point is that we should continue these measures to reach the final goal. One of the shortcomings that is inherent in almost all humans is that they start a new movement or a new work with great motivation and thirst for success. However, when this thirst is partly satisfied, they fail to continue and persist with the job. This should not happen. Consider the case of piling up the old files and storing current information on computers in the judiciary.
Or consider the current issues that exist in the judiciary today: the references to the judiciary, the settlement of issues, and the rules which are the bases of judgment. These should be computerized and easy to access. The start of this plan is a decent job. However, the plan will only be influential when completely implemented. If you make a fifty or sixty percent progress and not implement the plan completely, it is like a job that has not been done. You should continue to the end. Consider the measures which are taken in regard to the different issues of the branch - the issue of shortening the process of investigation and making inquiries, or the issue of dealing with the files, the accuracy of the rulings, the issue of prisons, and similar matters which are all among the important issues of the judiciary. Certain policies have been adopted in this regard, and many are already under way. But the policies should be completely pursued, and what is significant is continuity and persistence in pursuing the policies. This is an important point for the different sections of the judiciary. The various organizations which are connected to the judiciary should keep this point in mind that the plans should not be left unfinished. They should be pursued until the final goals are achieved.
Besides this, another important point is that we - the judicial branch - do all these activities so that the judiciary will reach the position it deserves in the Islamic community, in the practical life of the people, in their actual life, and in their minds - I have mentioned this point during the previous years, or maybe we discussed the issue at length during the previous years. The judiciary should bring a sense of security to the people. I once mentioned that the ultimate success for the judiciary in practical terms would be to reach a position where every individual in the country and in the Islamic community would feel that he can refer to the judiciary and solve his problems if he felt that someone wanted to oppress or had oppressed him. This feeling should be developed among the people. Everyone should feel that he can defend his rights by referring to the judiciary. Such a state should be created in the Islamic community.
If this happens in some 80 percent of the cases - even if not in all cases - for which people refer to the judiciary, and if matters are dealt with accurately and in a fair and resolute manner, this feeling will be developed among people to a large extent. In this case, the people will feel that the judiciary is their sanctuary. Such a feeling should be developed among all people. This means that the people should come to believe that the judiciary is responsible for creating peace in the country. This is a goal which should be achieved. All these actions are aimed at achieving such a status in society. If we developed policies and made efforts but failed to achieve such a status in the public opinion of our society, we should know that there is a problem somewhere. We should look to find that problem and solve it. This should be our criterion, and everyone should make efforts in this regard. Of course, to do so we need faithful, efficient, and knowledgeable elements and thankfully we have many such elements in our judiciary. We are thankfully not short of sympathetic, faithful, scholarly, hard-working, and responsible people at various levels in the judiciary.
Thankfully, the judiciary is currently presided over by Mr. Shahroudi - who is a mujtahid, scholarly, learned person who enjoys a good deal of knowledge on Islamic principles and issues. This is an ideal opportunity for you. The existence of such people and such prominent characters within the judiciary is an ideal opportunity.
If we are short of rules, we should pass the necessary legislation. If there are any organizations whose capacities have not been utilized, then those capacities should be properly utilized. Last year, a special group was formed, with the assistance and cooperation of Mr. Shahroudi, which was responsible for investigating ways to promote the judiciary. He issued the required decrees and some of our dear brothers carried out some research to find ways to promote this branch and remove the barriers lying ahead. They produced a very good report which was presented to Ayatollah Shahroudi, and a copy of the report was also given to me. Some very good solutions had been offered in this regard. I backed some of those points, and one of those points was that we should do research to see how much progress we have made in terms of realizing our overall policies. This is what should be done in the judiciary.
We developed appropriate general policies for the judicial system. These policies were mainly proposed by the judiciary officials themselves. They were later sent to the Expediency Council and announced in the country. The policies are very good ones. We should constantly look to see how much these policies have been implemented. This is the yardstick for our movement. We should know what proportion of these general policies, which are short-term goals of the judicial system, have been carried out. We should know what position we are currently in. Such an evaluation and proper estimation of progress will help us. Sometimes one may think that one has traveled 60 or 70 kilometers of a 100 kilometer route. He thinks he has enough time, so he decides to sit and rest. If we estimate accurately, we will see that we have not traveled 60 kilometers. We will see that we have traveled 15 or 20 kilometers. When we know that we have made this much progress and not more, we will naturally increase our speed and will avoid any stops on the way. Therefore, knowing where we are on the way towards carrying out those policies is very important. This is what I expect from the judicial system as one of the priorities. The issue of prolonging legal procedures, especially in important cases such as economic corruption, is one of those cases.
I do not believe in sensationalism in the cases of economic corruption. Rather, I believe that such cases have to be dealt with quickly and in a firm manner. Acting quickly is different than doing things in a hurry. The issue of prolonging legal procedures should be considered in such cases, which draw a lot of public attention - I will make a reference to the importance of this issue - and in other cases as well. Of course, in the reports which I have received there is an indication that there has been a reduction in the amount of time which is spent during the legal procedures. However, this amount should be compared to the ideal amount, not to the previous amount of time which was spent, so that we will know where we are and how much effort we should make to reach the ideal point.
Another point which is among the priorities, and which I emphasized in a note to the judiciary officials is the issue of accuracy in the rulings and constant contradictions in such rulings. I mentioned this point last year too in a similar meeting. The rulings in the primary courts should be contradicted on as few occasions as possible, whether in appellate courts or in the supreme court. I mean that the rulings should be so accurate that they can rarely be contradicted. If we saw that an unacceptable proportion of the rulings are being contradicted, then we should know that there is something wrong. This is also one of the priorities.
Another point is solving the problems of prisons. This issue should be taken very seriously. Of course the policy of reducing the amount of imprisonment - which was among the policies formulated by the honorable head of the judicial system and which was decided upon and implemented - is an appropriate measure. However, the existence of prisons and imprisonment is a reality. Our management regarding the issue of prisons should be in a way that will result in prisons being a place for teaching good deeds in the real sense of the word. This should be considered among the great plans. It should be considered as an important issue. These are matters which are directly related to the judicial system. The officials in charge should make enormous efforts in this regard. Of course I discussed the issue of reducing the number of prisoners - through granting amnesty or bail - with the honorable judiciary officials and the president. We will discuss the matter in the future as well. However, we should find real solutions to such problems. This is among the priorities which were discussed in regard to the promotion of the judicial branch.
There is also the issue of potentialities which have not been properly utilized, including those of the Ministry of Justice. Fortunately, proper capacities have been provided for the Ministry of Justice in the law. These capacities should be utilized.
What is significant is that we should utilize all the great potentialities of this branch. Fortunately, our judicial system is a logical, advanced, and accurate system in terms of its rulings and its overall structure. It is an up-to-date, strong, and logical system. We should utilize these potentialities. This is also one of the priorities.
What I deem appropriate to emphasize today, besides the points I mentioned, is the issue of pursuing the cases of economic corruption. Economic corruption should not only be considered as an offense in the country. If this matter is not pursued, if the causes and roots of the matter are not found, and if the different government branches do not cooperate to uproot this crime, this will greatly harm and endanger the country. Economic corruption will bring about cultural corruption as well. It will result in moral corruption too. One of the greatest dangers of economic corruption is that it will undermine the efficient elements of the different government departments. It will undermine their determination. Most of the cases of economic corruption which have been reported to me have happened in this way that some economically corrupt person found it necessary to penetrate some organization and get some of the elements who work there to cooperate with him. The people who work in the organizations are faithful people, but the offenders usually infuse these people with greed and love for money. And not everyone can resist such temptations. Some people will be tempted and they will commit offenses. This is one of the greatest dangers of economic corruption.
Economic corruption acts as a hindrance to proper and healthy investments in the country. I explained these points in a letter I wrote to the heads of the three branches in the year 2001 - almost 7 years ago. Economic offenses act as a hindrance to healthy economic activities in the country. They disappoint the faithful people who are after healthy economic activities. They are a great disease and a disaster. They are like a cholera outbreak in society. They are like infectious diseases which all organizations, including the judiciary, the legislative and the executive branches, try to eradicate once it has started to spread.
Of course, the judicial system plays an important role in this regard. I have constantly mentioned the necessary points to the officials of the executive branch. I have reminded them of their duties and placed the demand on them. That is a separate issue, but you dear brothers and sisters who are here and who are connected to the judicial system should know that the judiciary shoulders a heavy and important responsibility in fighting economic corruption.
Preventing economic corruption is also one of the duties of the judicial branch. Refer to the constitution and you will see that one of the duties of the judiciary is to prevent corruption. There are certain tools for this prevention. There are also certain organizations that are responsible for such prevention. Prevention can probably happen through other organizations connected to the judiciary such as security and intelligence services. There should be cooperation with all these organizations in order to prevent corruption. In an Islamic country, we should stand against abusers, corrupt and greedy people, and cunning individuals who misuse the public resources of the country, which belong to all the people, and use those resources as they wish despite the fact that there are so many poor and underprivileged people living in the country. It is natural that such a movement should more or less result in some reactions in the judicial, legislative, and executive branches. They will not stay quiet about it. There are some people who mix things up. They deviate from the main issue, like the recent incidents which happened in Afvah [northern Abadeh County]. Such incidents are examples of deviating from the desired ideal. This is one instance. Another instance happens through putting people under pressure, through forming connections, and through misusing one's power and getting people to stand on ceremony. These are the things that you should stand against. This is one of the great tasks that you should do.
This letter that I wrote - the demand that I made - dates back to the year 2001. It dates back to that year, but it is always a contemporary need. Today, if you are looking for the realities of society, I should tell you that I still place the same demands on the officials of the three government branches. This matter should not be treated negligently. In the worst-case scenario, these corrupt elements, God forbid, penetrate the responsible organizations and get some people to join and cooperate with them. This is one of the most important things which would be tragic if it happened. You should firmly stand against all forms of such events.
I hope these great tasks will be carried out - and they must be carried out. Fortunately, important measures have been taken during the recent years, and we have made some progress too. But I am not yet satisfied with what has been achieved. When we compare our achievements with the ideal situation, we see that there is still room for progress. We should try a lot, and it is only then that the ideal situation which I mentioned will be realized, that is the judicial branch will turn into a sanctuary for the oppressed people, who might exist among all classes of society, and oppressed people will feel that they can refer to the judiciary to defend their rights the moment someone oppresses or intends to oppress them. This is the ideal situation that should exist. You should look to see whether the situation currently exists in society or not. If it does not, you should try to bring about such a situation in society.
We need the assistance of God Almighty to make progress in our tasks. We are responsible for trying our best and making all possible efforts, and then we may ask God Almighty to assist us in the process. And be sure this will be the case. If you perform your duties with sincerity, purity, and complete motivation, God Almighty will facilitate your tasks, and you will hopefully make progress - just as we have made a great deal of progress so far, and God willing such achievements will increase in the future as well. I hope God the Exalted will aid you all with your services and sincere efforts. God willing, these efforts will be rewarded by Imam Mahdi (may our souls be sacrificed for his sake) and you will benefit from the prayers of that esteemed Imam. May the immaculate souls of our Imam (r.a.) and martyrs - especially the martyrs of Tir 7 (June 28) be satisfied and pleased with us all.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings