No Breach of Law by President

A member of the parliament’s presiding board said Sunday President Hassan Rouhani’s failure to convince lawmakers on economic-related questions will not be referred to the judiciary.

Asadollah Abbasi said the parliament’s presiding board had come to the conclusion that Rouhani’s case should not be referred to the judiciary for now, because he has not committed any against the law in relation to his administration’s poor handling of the economy, Mehr News Agency reported.

Rouhani responded to lawmakers’ questions over economic woes on August 28. The president’s answers to four out of five questions failed to convince the lawmakers, who wanted answers on the success or lack thereof of fighting smuggling, unemployment, the severe economic downturn, the sharp decline in the value of the rial and mounting banking problems.

According to Article 213 of the Parliament’s Rules of Procedure, the president’s answers that fail to convince lawmakers will be referred to the judiciary. If the parliament can prove there was a violation of law or refusal by the president to abide by the law.

Abbasi said Rouhani’s case has been dropped for now, unless lawmakers can present documents to confirm the president was in breach of the law law.