Exemption of Department of Environment (Iran) from payment of proceeding cost

It seems that we should finally come to realize that by misusing the environment and violating the nature’s circle, we are the ones paying the price at the end.

As legal professionals, one of the means we have to at least slow down this rapid path of destruction is to have more binding set of rules in protection of the environment. This made us to have a look at the Note 3 of the “Bill on How to Pay the Proceeding Cost by the Executive Bodies” which is now at 22 priority of the Parliament’s agenda.

It is noteworthy that one of the reasons the Department of Environment (the Department) has not been successful in litigating against the violators of the environmental laws is that the Department does not have sufficient credit to cover for the proceeding cost. In its least form, this lack of budget has caused for the illegal hunters and fishermen to escape the payment of penalty stipulated by the relevant laws which has resulted in the deterrent measures to be essentially ineffective.

For resolving the said issue, the cabinet stipulated the exemption of the Department from payment of proceeding costs in Note 3 of the Bill which reads as follows:

The Department of Environment and Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization are exempted from payment of all related proceeding costs in all stages of the proceeding.

However, the said note was omitted during the revision of the relevant bill in judicial committee of the Parliament. Now, with the suggestion of some of the parliament members, the third note might be remained in the bill and soon to be voted upon.

We will have to see whether by adopting this article, we could witness more severe confrontation with the violators specially the illegal hunters and fishermen or the applicable penalties would be remained ineffective!

Coordinated by Dr. Mahnaz Mehrinfar & Ms. Sahar Sotoodehnia