Guardian Council

The Guardian Council (also called Council of Guardians or Constitutional Council, Persian: شورای نگهبان, romanized: Shourā-ye Negahbān) is an appointed and constitutionally mandated 12-member council that wields considerable power and influence in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The constitution of the Islamic Republic gives the council three mandates:

The Iranian constitution calls for the council to be composed of six Islamic faqihs (experts in Islamic Law), "conscious of the present needs and the issues of the day" to be selected by the Supreme Leader of Iran, and six jurists, "specializing in different areas of law, to be elected by the Majlis (the Iranian Parliament) from among the Muslim jurists nominated by the Chief Justice" (who, in turn, is also appointed by the Supreme Leader).

The Council has played a central role in controlling the interpretation of Islamic values in Iranian law in the following ways:

When the 2009 presidential election was announced, popular former president Mohammad Khatami would not discuss his plans to run against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, for the Council might have disqualified Khatami as it had other reformists' candidatures, on the grounds that they were not dedicated enough to Islamic values.

There have also been instances where the Constitutional Council reversed its ban on particular people after being ordered to do so by Khamenei.

The lack of transparency in the rendering of decisions by the Guardian Council has eroded its legitimacy in the eyes of Iranians and the world.

The Majlis has no legal status without the Constitutional Council. Any bill passed by the Majlis must be reviewed and approved by the Constitutional Council to become law.