TLab’s Recommendations: Transparency and Anti-Corruption Measures

Enhancing Transparency and Anti-Corruption Measures in Iran

In our 2022 report, "Transparency, Corruption, and Accountability in Iran," Transparency Lab shed light on a wide range of issues contributing to the country's lack of transparency and high levels of corruption. We identified the root causes of these phenomena as primarily structural in nature, as well as being directly linked to legal deficiencies. These deficiencies can be seen in the presence of ineffective, inadequate, or outdated legislation.

Moreover, legislation is consciously designed and enforced in a manner that minimizes the accountability of the IRI’s core state institutions and restricts public access to information about these bodies. Additionally, the existence of parallel institutions tasked with interpreting the law, which include clerical and tutelary bodies such as the Guardian Council, further complicates the issue. What is more, the lack of independence within ombudsman and inspection bodies exacerbates the problem. The state's general apathy towards genuine efforts to combat corruption and increase transparency must be acknowledged, particularly with regards to 'tutelary institutions' directly or indirectly connected to the Supreme Leader.

This document outlines our recommendations for enhancing transparency and implementing anti-corruption measures in Iran, with a specific focus on the state sector. Individuals and organizations, both within and outside of Iran, who are involved in transparency, anti-corruption, and accountability-related awareness-raising, advocacy, and campaigning efforts in the country should consider these recommendations as a guideline for pursuing their activities.

An important note: While some proposed changes may have a higher likelihood of being achieved within the existing framework, especially through effective advocacy and campaigning efforts by civil society actors, there are others that are unlikely to be realized in the near future. This is primarily due to the Iranian state’s patent lack of interest in making meaningful changes to its fundamental laws and practices. Therefore, we have categorized our recommendations into long-term, mid-term, and short-term goals. It is crucial for civil society actors who aim to influence the decision-making processes to focus on all these categories and not to overlook the potential for longer-term and substantive changes, even in areas where immediate change may not seem feasible. Concentrating on raising awareness and disseminating information can serve as an initial step in this endeavor.

Short-Term Recommendations:

• Pass the FATF-related legislation without further delay and with no reservations.

• Put an end to impunity for state actors involved in corrupt activities, including those that extend beyond acts of personal financial corruption.

• Publish statistics related to government spending, procurement processes and financial transactions to increase transparency regarding all state institutions, whether they are semi-elective or tutelary. Ensure that this is done regularly and in an easily understandable format. 

Mid-Term Recommendations:

• Support and do not interfere with a free press that conducts investigative journalism on corruption issues. Cease the prosecution of journalists and whistle-blowers for investigating or publishing corruption-related cases.

• Foster an enabling environment for independent Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to monitor and report corruption.

• Allow domestic, semi-independent think tanks and research institutions to go beyond solely focusing on semi-elected institutions (such as the Majles or local councils) and also investigate and raise awareness about tutelary, Supreme Leader-led, and revolutionary institutions in their investigations and research.

• Refrain from bestowing 'Judicial Executive' power upon military institutions, namely the IRGC, in anti-corruption and transparency-related legislation.

Long-Term Recommendations:

• Amend laws and regulations that are inherently opposed to transparency or are corruption-inducing (as discussed in detail in the TLab 2022 report). This includes revisiting some of the articles of the 1979 constitution, such as Article 45, which has indirectly sanctioned the Supreme Leader as the 'owner' and principal 'benefactor' of a vast array of public property and has facilitated the lack of financial accountability of the institutions led by the Supreme Leader.

• Amend laws related to the numerous and powerful parallel and tutelary institutions, especially those classified as revolutionary institutions and Supreme Leader-led institutions, and ensure that these  are legally and practically monitorable and accountable to the public. Also, eliminate legal and practical privileges for tutelary institutions. These privileges encompass exemption from tax obligations and, most significantly, a lack of external monitoring and exemption from various transparency and accountability measures.

• Develop and adopt a comprehensive anti-corruption strategy that addresses key areas of vulnerability.

Finally, we invite all individuals, organizations, and stakeholders focused on Iran who are seeking to engage in research, training, advocacy, and campaigning activities related to transparency, anti-corruption and accountability to get in touch with us to receive specific recommendations and guidelines related to their respective projects.

Get in touch with us at here.