Revitalization of Public Rights and Guaranteeing the Common Good: The Reflection of Establishing an Administrative Prosecutor Institution

Abstract

A reconsideration of the historical concerns of justice seekers and advocates of liberty illustrates the fundamental question of how to tame the unbridled force of power so that it serves the collective good and does not infringe upon the rights of the people. States must implement measures and provisions at seven levels: recognizing rights and freedoms, respecting them, promoting and educating, executing and fulfilling, guaranteeing and realizing, overseeing and controlling, and facilitating monitoring by non-governmental institutions to ensure that the index of public rights enjoyment reflects a dignified status. Providing an effective, comprehensive, and fair mechanism for people to review and oversee the actions and decisions of public institutions, improving decision-making processes, procedures, and performance of these institutions with the goal of guaranteeing and revitalizing public rights is a decisive step toward a dignified civic life within the framework of good governance. Effective protective, supervisory, preventive, and safeguarding methods in the revitalization and realization of rights and freedoms—through various mechanisms such as litigation, inquisitorial, accusatorial, adversarial, and hybrid judicial models, as well as complaints and appeals based on the law—can contribute to the enhancement and development of human and civil rights. The establishment of institutions such as an "Administrative Prosecutor" or the strengthening and expansion of the competencies of public prosecutors, the creation of a "National Institution for the Revitalization of Public Rights," the establishment of a "National Institution for Human and Civil Rights," and the empowerment of civil institutions to demand and oversee rights enforcement can be part of the broader project for the promotion and development of human and civil rights in the country. In particular, given that administrative adjudication in Iranian law is neither well-established nor deeply rooted, this issue requires further examination, and the mechanisms that strengthen and guarantee human and civil rights must be thoroughly analyzed and scrutinized. This study, grounded in the concern for the common good, adopts a problem-oriented approach.