IRAN'S BAR ASSOCIATION: TRYING TO STAY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISTANBUL 000021 SIPDIS LONDON FOR MURRAY; BERLIN FOR ROSENSTOCK-STILLER; BAKU FOR MCCRENSKY; ASHGABAT FOR TANGBORN; BAGDAD FOR POPAL AND HUBAH; DUBAI FOR IRPO E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/15/2030 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINS PREL KDEM IR TU SUBJECT: IRAN'S BAR ASSOCIATION: TRYING TO STAY INDEPENDENT, OPEN TO WESTERN HELP REF: IRPO DUBAI 3 ISTANBUL 00000021 001.7 OF 002 Classified By: Acting Principal Officer Win Dayton; Reason 1.5 (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: An American Bar Association (ABA) representative briefed us recently on ABA's effort to make contact with Iran Bar Associations Union (IBAU),with the goal of offering legal workshops and capacity building to strengthen the IBAU's and regional Iranian bar associations' technical capabilities and independence. So far the IBAU appears to be a willing partner. We will stay in close contact with the ABA is its efforts proceed. End summary. ¶2. (C) According to a U.S. citizen who is working for the American Bar Association's Rule of Law Initiative (ABA/ROLI) in Istanbul, ABA has been working closely with Istanbul's Bahcesehir University since October 2009 to set up a legal training workshop in Istanbul for members of Iran's Bar Associations Union (IBAU). ABA/ROLI has a long track record of providing technical training and capacity building in South East Europe, the Middle East, and elsewhere (including training Syrian lawyers at Bahcesehir University),and believes it can adapt that template successfully to offer technical assistance to Iranian lawyers. ¶3. (C) According to the ABA rep, ABA/ROLI has established contact successfully with the IBAU executives, and on December 16-17, 2009 held extensive discussions in Istanbul with the Chairman of the IBAU's International Affairs Committee (please protect),joined by Bahceshehir University representatives, to discuss selection of Iranian lawyers to participate in the program, as well as specific types of courses to be offered. The IBAU rep agreed to pass along a formal letter from Bahcesehir University to the IBAU and to several regional Iranian bar associations (including the Central/Tehran, Shiraz, Esfahan, and Tabriz bar associations) inviting their participation in future workshops. Although that letter makes reference to assistance being provided by the ABA, the IBAU rep reportedly said that he did not foresee any problems securing the bar associations' agreement to participate. The IBAU rep also told our ABA contact that since the training was non-political and would take place in Turkey, he did not think the IBAU was obliged to inform the Iranian government or seek formal GoI permission to participate. The ABA, Bahceshehir University, and IBAU representatives agreed that the next step in their cooperation should be a needs-assessment workshop in Istanbul in late February, to include up to 20 Iranian lawyers. ¶4. (C) According to our ABA contact, the IBAU representative offered a number of interesting insights about the legal profession in Iran, including: -- National organization: The IBAU acts as an umbrella organization for nineteen regional bar associations based in Iran's cities, including Tehran (which calls itself the "Central Bar Association"),Esfahan, Shiraz, Tabriz, Mashad, Karaj, Ahvaz and others. IBAU has a president (Bahman Keshavaz, who the IBAU rep described as "progressive, open minded, and fair"),two vice-presidents, and a governing committee made up of five members from each of the 19 regional bar associations and 12 members from Tehran's Central Bar Association (CBA),making it a large and sometimes unwieldy governing body. Not surprisingly, Tehran's Central Bar Association is the most influential of the associations, and is comprised of all practicing lawyers in Tehran. The CBA has its own president, two vice-presidents, and a board of directors consisting of 12 members (who also serve on the IBAU governing board). -- The IBAU rep claimed that elections for bar association committees are fair and democratic, and reflect the effort that the bar associations make to remain independent of Iranian government control. Prior to Iranian Presidential elections in June 2009, according to the IBAU rep, Iran's former Justice Minister (Gholam-Hossein Elham) issued a decree that would put the bar associations under judicial supervision. The new Justice Minister (Seyed Morteza Bakhtiari) postponed implementation of the decree for six months, but it has not been rescinded and the six month postponement will end soon. The IBAU rep told his Istanbul interlocutors that if the decree remains in force the Iranian bar associations will not comply, and will continue to act independently of the judiciary. -- In an earlier step intended to blunt the independence of the bar associations, in 2001 the Justice Ministry created a cadre of legal practitioners known as "Article 187 legal ISTANBUL 00000021 002.6 OF 002 advisors" under the judiciary's control. These legal advisors are authorized by judicial decree to practice law even in the absence of a formal law degree. The IBAU rep suggested to our ABA contact that most of these positions are given to Basiji members. The judiciary often appoints these legal advisors, rather than licensed lawyers, to represent the accused in sensitive political cases where the government wants to retain full control over the trial's outcome. Currently there are about 10,000 such legal advisors working in Iran. -- Qualifications: Admission to practice law as a member of an Iranian bar association requires graduation from law school, passing a rigorous set of examinations, and an 18-month apprenticeship working with an experienced lawyer. After completion of the apprenticeship, a regional bar association will administer a written and oral exam for bar association membership. On completion of this exam, the applicant is entitled to practice law in Iran. -- Practical lawyering: According to the IBAU contact, Iran's law schools and bar associations comprise an approximate 50-50 gender balance, although the judiciary is heavily weighted towards male judges. Private lawyers tend to practice alone or in firms with only a handful of members, with a few exceptions (mostly in Tehran, which has a number of law firms that have over a dozen practicing lawyers). As a result, mentoring is almost non-existent, and lawyers only gain practical experience through their required apprenticeships, on-the-job training and trial-and-error. -- Strengths and weaknesses: Iranian lawyers are usually well trained in the Iranian constitution and legal codes, but tend to lack practical lawyering skills, the IBAU rep told our ABA contact. The IBAU rep said Iran's bar associations would welcome ABA and Bahcesehir University assistance with legal capacity-building specifically in using the law to better protect human rights; law office management; brief-writing and client interviewing skills, and developing professional legal networks. ¶5. (C) Comment: We are encouraged by ABA/ROLI's efforts to provide legal training and workshops to Iran's bar associations, which appear to be a prime candidate to benefit from such civil society-oriented capacity-building. Indeed, the Iranian bar associations' efforts to remain independent of regime control, at least as described by the IBAU representative, are a reminder that even in the face of radicalizing politics and social unrest in Iran the Iranian population still has some access to professional and civil society groups that pursue their own independent, not necessarily pro-regime, agendas. ¶6. (C) Comment, continued: Our ABA contact told us they feel relieved that ABA was not named as one of the 60 "enemies of the state" list recently issued by the Iranian regime (reftel),and they remain hopeful that as long as they can operate with Bahcesehir University in the spotlight, they believe their workshops -- which are funded through 2011 -- will contribute to a more technically-capable, politically independent cadre of lawyers in Iran. We will stay in close contact with ABA as their programs proceed. Acutely mindful of the risks to participating Iranian lawyers, however, we anticipate staying well away from the actual workshops. End comment. DAYTON