A constitutional council has rejected a bill passed by parliament to convert Iran Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization to a ministry, citing inconsistencies with the Constitution and Islamic laws.
Under the conversion plan, ICHHTO will retain all its current duties and authorities with no expansion in its administrative structure and workforce.
The Guardians Council, which is tasked with vetting the compliance of legislation approved by the Parliament with Sharia (Islamic law) and the Iranian Constitution, has called for amendments to ICHHTO’s statute that dates back to before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
It contends that some of the rules enshrined in the statute run counter to Sharia, which forms the bedrock of the Islamic Republic system.
“A problem with the bill is that it recognizes some of ICHHTO rules passed before the revolution that go against the Islamic tenets,” the council’s spokesperson, Abbasali Kadkhodaei, was quoted by ILNA as saying on Saturday.
As per the legislation, the duties of the new entity would be like that of the former ICHHTO until the government submits proposed modifications to the Majlis for approval within a maximum time frame of one year.
A second point of objection was the funding source for the conversion project.
Any possible costs arising from the structural change will be covered by savings in government expenses, a provision reads.
“The bill says the government savings will be used to meet the expenses, which has been interpreted by the Guardians Council as contrary to Article 75 of the Constitution,” Kadkhodaei said.
The points raised by the council would be reviewed by lawmakers upon returning from a two-week recess on Saturday, a member of the parliamentary committee on the conversion plan said.
“After the parliamentary recess, the council’s objections will be discussed in an open session of the Majlis and if the demanded amendments are approved by the committee, the measure would be referred back to the Guardians Council,” Fatemeh Zolqadr said.
However, there is a possibility that the two legislative bodies might fail to agree on the terms of the bill, in which case the Expediency Council would intervene to resolve the dispute, Zolqadr added.
