The Expediency Discernment Council: The approval of Palermo was based on the interests of the system.

Following the approval of the Palermo bill by the Expediency Discernment Council, the legal and judicial commission of the Secretariat of the Expediency Discernment Council issued a statement aimed at enlightening public opinion and addressing the questions and ambiguities raised.

The complete text of this statement, which has been prepared in 7 parts, is as follows: In recent weeks, as the issue of the Parliament's resolution regarding the accession of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Palermo and CFT conventions has been on the agenda of the Expediency Discernment Council, various individuals, groups, and circles have expressed both supportive and opposing views on joining these two international documents in the media space of the country. While appreciating all of them—especially the opponents and critics who, with good intentions and concern, warned the Expediency Discernment Council against approving these two documents—it is necessary to state with full respect that the opposition is primarily due to unfamiliarity and lack of adequate information about the provisions and commitments outlined in the mentioned conventions, and the objections, doubts, and warnings raised are largely unfounded and lacking in technical and legal reasoning.

For this purpose and with the aim of clarifying the reasons behind the recent decision of the Assembly to approve the "United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime," known as the Palermo Convention, the Legal and Judicial Commission of the Secretariat of the Expediency Council has provided some necessary explanations, the details of which are communicated to the noble nation of Iran.

A: Background

The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, aimed at "promoting cooperation among member states to prevent and combat transnational organized crime more effectively," was adopted on November 15, 2000, through UN General Assembly Resolution 55/25 and was signed in December 2000 in Palermo, Italy, by 123 countries, including the Islamic Republic of Iran. According to the mechanism outlined in Article 38 of the Convention, this document entered into force on September 29, 2003. Currently, 147 countries have signed the Convention and 192 countries have ratified it.

The bill for Iran’s accession to the Palermo Convention was approved by the Cabinet on December 9, 2013, upon the proposal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and subsequently ratified by the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Parliament) on January 24, 2018. The Guardian Council raised formal objections to the ratification, and the Parliament revised the bill accordingly to address these issues. However, the Guardian Council not only reiterated its previous objections but also added concerns raised by the Supreme Supervisory Board of the Expediency Discernment Council and returned the bill to Parliament on July 8, 2018.

After further revisions by Parliament, the Guardian Council announced on October 10, 2018, that although its own objections had been addressed, the concerns of the Supervisory Board remained. Subsequently, Parliament insisted on the bill's approval and, pursuant to Article 112 of the Constitution, submitted it to the Expediency Council for final resolution.

Thus, the bill for Iran’s accession to the Palermo Convention, after being conditionally approved by Parliament in the winter of 2018 and formally endorsed by the Guardian Council, was referred to the Expediency Council solely due to the objections of the Supervisory Board on the grounds of inconsistency with certain general policies of the state. At that time, the Council did not reach a definitive decision, and with the expiration of the one-year legal deadline, the opinion of the Guardian Council was upheld in accordance with the Council's internal regulations—effectively rejecting Parliament’s ratification.

However, the then-President subsequently requested, in a letter to the Supreme Leader, that Parliament’s resolution be reconsidered. The Supreme Leader agreed, but again, the Council did not reach a decision, and as the twelfth administration came to an end in mid-2021 and a new administration took office, the matter was dropped.

Following the election of Mr. Pezeshkian as President in 2024 and his request to the Supreme Leader, who agreed to a renewed review, the matter of Parliament's resolution regarding the Palermo and CFT conventions was placed on the Council’s agenda for a third time. The review process began in January 2025 in a joint committee specifically established for this purpose.

During this phase, the objections of the Supervisory Board were examined over the last three months of 2024 in the Council's Secretariat and later in the joint committee with the participation of several Council members. Taking into account the provisions of Parliament’s "conditions" for accession—especially the critical condition that "the interpretation and implementation of the Convention's provisions must conform to domestic laws, particularly the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran"—the committee deemed the objections and concerns raised by the Supervisory Board to be resolved.

Accordingly, on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, the Expediency Council, with a majority of more than three-fifths of its members, endorsed the expert opinion of the joint committee. As a result, the Parliament’s resolution on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s accession to this Convention was approved by the Expediency Discernment Council.