Naser Seraj,” The Vice President of the Judiciary for International Affairs delivered a speech today at 20th Meetimg of Heads of Judiciary Systems of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Hangzhou, China.
The Vice President of the Judiciary for International Affairs, in a speech focused on “suppressing the violent crime of terrorism” stating that the issue of terrorism is not limited to a region, state, or territory, noted: “Suppressing the violent crime of terrorism in judicial systems requires understanding the types of terrorism and the rules governing the fight against terrorism.
Stating that terrorism can be divided into individual, organized, and state terrorism, Seraj said: “Although there are doubts among legal scholars about state terrorism and some consider the violent behavior of states to be subject to international law, including the laws governing war crimes and crimes against humanity, there is also the fact that some states and regimes directly or indirectly commit terrorism”.
The following is a summary of the remarks made by Naser Seraj, the Vice President of the Judiciary for International Affairs, at the 20th Meeting of Heads of Judicial Systems of Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (Hangzhou, China):
In the Name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen, Distinguished Participants in the Meeting
Hello;
Terrorism is the use of violence to create fear or terror, especially as a means of influencing political behavior. Terrorism is a very complex phenomenon that has various political, social, economic, cultural and global dimensions, and despite the importance of its political dimension, one of its most important factors in recent years has been the cultural factor.
Terrorism is a global phenomenon. Terrorism is not limited to one region, state or territory. The increasing mobility of terrorists in crossing borders, obtaining resources from multiple countries and accessing advanced methods of mass communication such as the Internet is an indication of this. The victims of terrorist attacks are also not necessarily nationals of one country and the organizational structure of terrorist groups is widespread.
The most important goal of terrorists is political. Disrupting the coherence of the society and the distribution of power, influencing political and social developments by using the most violent behaviors, especially against civilians, are among the political goals of terrorist groups. Terrorism crosses internal borders and, in addition to the internal security of countries, threatens international peace and security. Terrorism and terror are also destructive factors of economic activities.
Suppressing the violent crime of terrorism in judicial systems requires an understanding of the types of terrorism and the rules governing the fight against terrorism. Terrorism can be divided into individual, organized, and state terrorism. All types of terrorism are dangerous. Violence by individuals against each other and against the state or international organizations and the environment using violent means and with political goals is terrorism.
Although there are doubts among legal scholars about state terrorism, and some consider the violent behavior of states to be subject to international law, including the laws governing war crimes and crimes against humanity, it is also a fact that some states and regimes directly or indirectly commit terrorism. State terrorism refers to colonial, racist, and alien states that commit violent behavior against individuals to achieve their goals. In relation to state terrorism, state support for terrorists, including both positive and negative behaviors of states such as training, financing, sheltering in the territory, and failure to prevent terrorist activities, is worth mentioning.
The Islamic Republic of Iran is a major victim of terrorism. Over the past four decades, more than 23,000 innocent people have been martyred by various terrorist groups. Many of the perpetrators of these terrorist crimes stay in Western countries now. In this regard, two important examples can be mentioned that despite the legal basis for judicial cooperation and extradition of criminals, these countries do not fulfill their obligations. The first group is the members of the so-called People's Mujahedin (the MKO) terrorist group, who have martyred more than 17,000 innocent people, including women and children. The second example is the terrorist attack at Baghdad airport that martyred General Hajj Qassem Soleimani, a hero of the fight against terrorism.
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen, Distinguished Participants of the Meeting
The fight against terrorism also has a cost for the judicial systems. In this way, the first Head of the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Martyr Hazrat Ayatollah Beheshti, fell victim to terrorism and was martyred. Many judges and employees of the judicial system have so far sacrificed their lives in the fight against terrorism. In the latest terrorist act, on January 18, 2025, two prominent and well-known judges of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Judiciary, Mr. Ali Razini and Mr. Mohammad Moghiseh, who were high-ranking judges of the Supreme Court, were martyred in a terrorist act. During their judicial service, these two martyrs were on the front lines of investigating, trying, and punishing terrorists.
However, the Islamic Republic of Iran will not allow terrorists to freely move around in the safe haven of host countries and lead or commit their terrorist operations. We will use all capacities to confront the impunity of terrorists and in this regard, we extend a hand of cooperation to the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization was established in 2001 with three main goals of combating terrorism, separatism and extremism. The main documents of the organization specifically address the issue of combating terrorism, including the Shanghai Treaty on Combating Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism; the Additional Document on Amendments to the Shanghai Treaty in the Field of Combating Terrorism; the Agreement of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization on the Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure and two additional documents thereto. The judicial authorities of the member states of the organization at different levels hold various meetings annually in order to achieve its main goals of combating terrorism and extremism. This effort should be carried out with a pragmatic approach.
Given the development and globalization of terrorism, it is necessary to develop and strengthen the necessary tools to prevent and punish perpetrators of terrorist crimes. Prosecuting and investigating the perpetrators of these crimes is a difficult task. It is even more difficult when the accused, the victim, the reasons for the crime, the witnesses, and the proceeds of the crime are outside the jurisdiction of the place where the crime was committed. As a result, it is necessary to strengthen regional and international judicial cooperation to combat terrorism. The development of such judicial cooperation is certainly effective in combating and suppressing terrorist groups, and the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran welcomes it.
An effective and focused response to terrorism prevention must include a strong criminal justice system. Perpetrators of terrorist acts are criminals who must be dealt with within the framework of the criminal justice process, based on the rule of law, respect for human rights, and through a preventive and repressive approach.
To combat terrorism effectively, countries need to have a comprehensive legal regime against terrorism. Furthermore, given the international dimension and complexity of terrorism, countries should use the capacity of international judicial cooperation to combat it and to build new capacities.
The first fundamental principle for international judicial cooperation in combating terrorism is the criminalization of terrorism. The criminal laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran define various forms of terrorism as well as the financing of terrorism. The Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which is responsible for drafting judicial bills, has drafted the Anti-Terrorism Bill, and its final stages are underway. This bill is considered a comprehensive bill and has been prepared based on domestic needs and attention to binding international documents in the field of combating terrorism. This bill criminalizes five categories of terrorist crimes: crimes related to the financing of terrorism; crimes related to the status of victims; crimes related to civil aircraft; crimes related to ships and fixed platforms; and crimes related to hazardous materials. These are the crimes defined in this bill.
The second fundamental principle for international judicial cooperation aimed at combating terrorism is the existence of legal and institutional foundations for cooperation. The foundations of judicial cooperation, which specify various forms, including extradition and judicial cooperation in criminal matters, include bilateral agreements, international conventions, and reciprocity.
The criminal justice systems of the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization must have the necessary legal tools to combat impunity for perpetrators of terrorist crimes. One of these tools, which is missing from the set of documents of the SCO, is a convention or treaty of the countries of this organization for the purpose of extradition of criminals, the conclusion and ratification of which will pave the way for the prosecution or extradition of criminals in the territorial territory of the member states of the organization. Therefore, the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran proposes that negotiations related to the preparation of the text and conclusion of the Convention on the Extradition of Criminals of the SCO member states be initiated as soon as possible through the competent authorities. The Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran requests the cooperation and assistance of the national coordinators of the member states, the anti-terrorism structure of the organization and the Secretariat for the preparation of this convention. In this regard, the Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to prepare and present the initial draft text of the said convention after coordinating with the competent domestic institutions so that, God willing, the prepared text will be signed by the competent authorities at the 21st meeting of the highest judicial authorities of the member states to be held in Tehran.