Pathology of the Role of the Administrative Justice Court in Guaranteeing Citizens’ Rights: From Institutional Deficiencies to Procedural Inefficiencies

Abstract

The Administrative Justice Court, as the most important specialized judicial authority for examining complaints, grievances, and objections of citizens against the decisions and actions of governmental and public bodies, plays a fundamental role in guaranteeing citizens’ rights and realizing the rule of law within the Iranian legal system. From a theoretical perspective, this institution is expected to function as an effective mechanism for controlling administrative power, preventing arbitrariness by executive authorities, and restoring violated citizens’ rights. However, empirical assessments indicate that the Court’s performance does not always fully correspond to this ideal function. The central issue of this research is the pathology of the role of the Administrative Justice Court in guaranteeing citizens’ rights, with a focus on institutional deficiencies and procedural inefficiencies. The main research question is which factors within the structure, competences, and procedures of the Court have weakened its effectiveness in providing meaningful protection for citizens’ rights, and what consequences these shortcomings have entailed for public trust and the rule of law. The research method is descriptive–analytical and is based on the examination of statutory documents, judgments, and judicial practices of the Administrative Justice Court, the viewpoints of public law doctrine, and a limited comparative analysis with certain advanced administrative law systems. The data have been analyzed through library-based sources and qualitative content analysis. The findings indicate that factors such as limitations on the Court’s supervisory jurisdiction, ambiguity in adjudicative standards, excessive length of proceedings, lack of uniformity in judicial practice, weakness in the enforcement of judgments, and susceptibility to administrative considerations constitute the most significant obstacles to the Court’s effective fulfillment of its role in guaranteeing citizens’ rights. In practice, these shortcomings have led to a decline in the efficiency of judicial protection and a weakening of citizens’ sense of legal security. The conclusion of the study suggests that reforming the role of the Administrative Justice Court requires a simultaneous reconsideration of its institutional structure and judicial procedures. Finally, the research recommends that through expanding the Court’s competences, strengthening judicial independence, enhancing procedural transparency, expediting adjudication, and improving the enforcement of judgments, the conditions for a more effective fulfillment of the Court’s role in guaranteeing citizens’ rights can be achieved.