The Relationship Between the Absolute Guardianship of the Jurist and Oversight of the Supreme Leader in Islamic Teachings and the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Abstract

Islam places strong emphasis on the supervision of rulers and the leadership of an Islamic government. The foundations of Islam consider unchecked power as a source of corruption and insist on the necessity of oversight. Supervision of the Supreme Leader pertains to both his qualifications and his performance. This supervision requires an understanding of the characteristics of the Supreme Leader as well as his responsibilities, both from the perspective of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) and the Constitution. Given the importance of this issue and the pivotal role played by Islamic jurists in this context, a comprehensive examination from the standpoint of jurisprudence and the Constitution has not yet been conducted. In Islam, there are various evidences that confirm the necessity of oversight of the Supreme Leader. These include: the non-infallibility of the Supreme Leader, the obligation of advising rulers, the conceptualization of responsibility as a trust, and the significance of the religious duty of enjoining good and forbidding wrong. Supervision of the Supreme Leader encompasses both internal and external oversight. The entities overseeing him include divine supervision, public oversight, and institutionalized mechanisms. Certain principles of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran underscore the importance of the Assembly of Experts, a juristic institution within the Islamic Republic, which bears the legal responsibility for this oversight. This article aims to examine the concept and mechanism of supervision from the perspective of both the Constitution and Islamic teachings.