Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• Ali akbar Jafari Nadoushan ¹
• Omid Shirzad ²

¹ Assistant Professor, Department of Private Law, Political Sciences and History, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran

² Assistant Professor, Public Law, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran

Abstract

Introduction

As a landmark achievement of Iran’s constitutional movement, the Constitution was of such great importance that some representatives of the first National Assembly—many of whom were dedicated fighters in the Constitutional Revolution—memorized its principles as if they were verses of the Qur’an. Their commitment to upholding and protecting the Constitution was so unwavering that it seemed inconceivable that any harm could come to it. However, following the fall of the Qajar dynasty and the rise of Reza Khan Pahlavi, the Constitution underwent its first revisions. Power was transferred from the Qajars to the Pahlavis in a manner that contradicted constitutional principles. Furthermore, during Reza Shah’s 16-year reign (1925–1941), both the text and spirit of the Constitution were systematically distorted to serve an authoritarian will, leading to its decline in value and significance. This study aimed to examine the historical causes and contexts underlying these constitutional changes during the First Pahlavi period. By tracing the evolution of constitutional law in Iran, it tried to shed new light on this significant episode of Iran’s contemporary history. In this respect, the following research questions were addressed: What was the historical context behind the constitutional revision that facilitated the transfer of power from the Qajar dynasty to the Pahlavi dynasty? From a legal perspective, what processes led to the establishment of the Pahlavi monarchy and the dissolution of the Qajar dynasty? And during Reza Shah’s 16-year reign—aside from actions that directly violated constitutional principles—what justifications or apparently legal procedures contributed to altering and undermining several principles of the Constitution?

Literature Review

There is some serious research on the Constitution of Mashruteh. Notable among them are: “A Study of the Legal and Historical Foundations of the Evolution of the Constitution of Mashruteh” (Jafari-Nadoushan & Tavakoli, 2020), “The National Assembly as a Corridor for the Establishment of an Absolute Monarchy” (Khalili, 2011), and “Extra-legal Actions to Re-interpret Article 82 of the Constitutional Amendment During Reza Shah Era” (Ali-Sufi & Sadeghi, 2021). Building on the existing scholarship, the present study aimed to examine the revision of the Constitution and its legal implications. From the perspective of constitutional law, it explored the evolution of the Constitution and the gradual weakening of its principles through interpretative mechanisms.
  3. Materials and Methods
The present study employed the library research to collect the data. Moreover, a descriptive–analytical method was used to analyze the data.

Results and Discussion

The first part of the research analyzed the amendment of Principles 36 to 38 of the Constitution and the transfer of power from the Qajar dynasty to the Pahlavi dynasty. A review of historical events of the time led to the conclusion that neither the establishment of the Constitution at the end of Muzaffar al-Din Shah’s reign in 1906 nor its revision in 1925 and the subsequent transfer of power to the Pahlavis followed a democratic process. In other words, in both 1906 and 1925, the Constitution—both in its establishment and later amendments—was shaped through a semi-authoritarian, semi-granted process, with minimal direct participation from the people. The second part of the research examined the substantive transformations of the Constitution that arose through the interpretation of certain principles. During Reza Shah’s 16-year reign, two significant attempts were made to interpret constitutional principles. Although these did not constitute formal constitutional revisions, their impact was profound enough to be considered in any study of constitutional evolution during the First Pahlavi period. The results support the hypothesis that these interpretations effectively led to the alteration and weakening of the Constitution. The first instance involved the interpretation of Principles 81 and 82, which resulted in the weakening of the judiciary and the erosion of judicial independence. The second occurred in 1938 when Principle 37 was interpreted to fulfill Reza Shah’s desire to establish a hereditary monarchy within his family.
5. Conclusion
The research findings confirm that in the post-Constitutional era—despite the weakening of tyranny, the preservation of territorial integrity, certain aspects of modernization, and some advancements—the conflict between the traditional authoritarian order and the democratic order persisted. This situation led to Reza Shah’s dominance over the Constitution. His dominance and violations of the Constitution occurred both during the transfer of power from the Qajar dynasty to the Pahlavi dynasty in 1925 and in subsequent years (particularly in 1931 and 1938) when the National Assembly interpreted the Constitution in ways that favored his rule. While the 1925 revision of the Constitution may be considered inevitable due to the shift in monarchy, the interpretations during Reza Shah’s reign were undeniably clear violations of the Constitution. These actions undermined principles of public law, such as judicial independence. The events of 1931 and 1938, which involved proposals from judicial ministers and interpretative rulings by the National Assembly, demonstrated that the Shah, as head of the executive branch, effectively dominated both the judiciary and the legislative branch. In doing so, he imposed his will to power on the Constitution.

Keywords

• Iran’s Constitution
• First Pahlavi
• National Assembly
• Judicial Independence

Main Subjects

• Public Law