According to the Judiciary Media Center, the ceremony marking the 72nd anniversary of the independence of the Bar Association was held in Tehran on Tuesday night in a situation where, for the first time in 46 years, the highest official of the judiciary attended the ceremony.
During his speech at this ceremony, Mohseni Ejei, while congratulating all lawyers on Lawyer's Day, explained the aspects of realizing and developing justice and stated: "One of the main goals of the Islamic Republic system is to realize and develop justice. We, the judges, and you, the lawyers, whom I would like to call colleagues, have an irreplaceable role in realizing and developing justice."
Stating that one of the requirements for realizing and developing justice is adherence to the law, the head of the judiciary said: All of us, in every class and stratum, must be committed to the law; if everyone wants to act based on their own taste, then the desired and ultimate justice will not be achieved. When we talk about adhering to the law, our intention is to adhere to all of the law, not a part of it. We, the judges and you, the lawyers, are the two wings of the angel of justice; if we want justice to be realized at the highest level, we must be completely law-abiding.
The head of the judiciary added: "We have opened many cases, investigated, scrutinized, and spent days on some issues until the truth was revealed; but how much have we been able to delve into our own personal cases?"
The Chief Justice clarified: Of course, the law that is enacted must be comprehensive and preventive; if the law provides for the interests of a part of society and ignores the interests of other parts, justice will not be achieved. The lawmakers and law enforcers must also be just themselves.
Referring to the requirements for practicing law, the Chief Justice stated: Commitment is a fundamental principle in the profession of law. If there is betrayal in the contract concluded between the lawyer and the client, it is not considered an ordinary betrayal, but rather a betrayal of justice and society.
Emphasizing the cooperation and synergy between the judiciary and the guardians of the legal profession to eliminate the gaps and problems in the field of judgment and legal practice, Mohseni Ejei stated: There is no conflict between the judiciary and the legal profession; in order to eliminate the gaps and shortcomings and amend some laws, there must be extensive communication between us and you, the guardians of the legal profession, as well as the officials and legislative stakeholders. Now is a great opportunity to eliminate the gaps and problems related to the two institutions of judgment and legal practice, taking into account the mutual trust that exists.
The Chief Justice considered self-monitoring to be a fundamental principle in the two institutions of judgment and legal practice and stated: We, the judges, and you, the lawyers, must be very careful about our dignity and position in society. People in society have a different view of a judge and a lawyer and expect judges and lawyers to be more committed to implementing the law and observing social norms than other segments of society. A judge and a lawyer in society must be very careful about their language and their behavior.
The head of the judiciary said: "In every class and stratum, there are slips and slip-makers; we must try to correct and compensate for slips as much as possible; sometimes it is not necessary to quickly punish the person who has slipped; if we punish according to legal standards, we must help the person who has slipped to quickly correct and compensate."
The Chief Justice stated: "I and those like me need to listen more than to speak; during the more than three years that I have been responsible for the presidency of the judiciary, I have tried to hold as many brainstorming sessions as possible with all strata and professions of society; we, the agents of the system, must understand the problems and challenges of the different strata and professions of the country and use all our efforts to resolve them."
Referring to the role of lawyers in reducing the delay of proceedings, Mohseni Ejei stated: "We, the judges, and you, the lawyers, have a great trust. We must be good trustees. Some of the people's secrets are in our and your possession. We must be good secret keepers. Your and my work is very important. We must be very careful in carrying out this important work and, to the best of our ability, proceed with the assigned tasks as quickly as possible."