One of the most important forms of security is economic security, which is a fundamental need of individuals and societies. Therefore, governments have long adopted various strategies to meet this fundamental need of their citizens. A significant part of these strategies involves efforts to maintain and revive manufacturing enterprises on the verge of bankruptcy and to counter comprehensive economic threats and sanctions from adversaries by utilizing available domestic resources. One of the main examples of achieving these strategies is the establishment of institutions and headquarters that formulate policies related to production, employment, and the resolution of their issues based on their legal authority and responsibilities.
The “Production Support and Barriers Removal Headquarters,” which was previously established by a cabinet resolution, acquired legal status in May 2018 through the enactment of the law “Amendments to the Law on the Removal of Barriers to Competitive Production and the Improvement of the National Financial System.” According to the explicit text of the law, its enactments are enforceable and mandatory. However, in many cases, the decisions of this headquarters are not taken seriously, and executive bodies, especially banks, refuse to implement them. Given the importance of boosting production and utilizing the capacities of manufacturing enterprises in job creation and the effective role of the mentioned headquarters and its enactments in revitalizing production units, this note aims to clarify and illuminate the responsibilities and jurisdiction of the “Production Support and Barriers Removal Headquarters” and the enforcement mechanisms for violations of its enactments for the benefit of Business owners and producers.
Section 1: The Legal Status of the Production Support and Barriers Removal Headquarters
According to the “Amendments to the Law on the Removal of Barriers to Competitive Production and the Improvement of the National Financial System,” approved on May 21, 2018, the government was authorized to establish the “Production Support and Barriers Removal Headquarters,” chaired by the Minister of Industry, Mine, and Trade. The aim was to review and decide on resolving the issues of manufacturing units, particularly regarding the completion and operation of unfinished projects, financing, handling overdue debts, and addressing problems related to the environment, natural resources, mining, and export barriers. The Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade was also obligated to prepare the necessary executive regulations with the advice of the Government-Private Sector Dialogue Council within the framework of its legal powers and submit them to the cabinet for approval within two months of the enactment of this law.
In line with the headquarters’ duties, each province has a task force for production support and barriers removal, chaired by the governor and overseen and organized by the headquarters. The mentioned headquarters and task forces and their required secretariats should use the existing facilities and personnel in the relevant executive bodies and not create any new organizations. The members of the headquarters are as follows:
1. Minister of Industry, Mine, and Trade (Chairman of the Headquarters)
2. Head of the Planning and Budget Organization
3. Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance
4. Minister of Cooperatives, Labour, and Social Welfare
5. Minister of the Interior
6. Governor of the Central Bank
7. President of the Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture
8. Head of the Environmental Protection Organization
9. Minister of Oil
10. Minister of Agriculture
11. Minister of Energy
12. Minister of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education
13. President of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts, and Tourism Organization
14. Head of the National Standards Organization
15. President of the Cooperative Chamber
16. President of the Guild Chamber
17. Representatives of nationwide production organizations
Members in sections 1 to 7 are permanent members, while the rest of the members attend the sessions as required. The enactments of the mentioned headquarters are approved and implemented with the majority vote of the ministers and heads of executive bodies (both permanent and invited). The provincial task force members are selected correspondingly to the headquarters’ members, and their enactments are approved and implemented accordingly.
Section 2: The Headquarters’ Jurisdiction
The key duties and jurisdictions of the headquarters have been outlined in Article 61 of the “Amendments to the Law on the Removal of Barriers to Competitive Production and the Improvement of the National Financial System.” They can be summarized into several main areas:
1. Key Duties and Jurisdictions of Provincial Task Forces:
1.1. Investigating the causes of recession or shutdown of manufacturing units and coordinating the resolution of their issues, including with the Social Security Organization.
1.2. Examining and providing solutions for labor-related social issues.
1.3. Reviewing the conflicts between manufacturing units and provincial executive bodies, such as the Tax Affairs Organization, and providing suitable solutions.
1.4. Assisting in accelerating the completion and operation of semi-finished manufacturing projects.
1.5. Supporting and aiding the development of provincial manufacturing products for export.
It is worth noting that the duties and jurisdictions of provincial task forces help clarify the role of the national headquarters, which oversees and coordinates these task forces.
2. Key Duties and Jurisdictions of the National Headquarters:
2.1. Reviewing and deciding on policy formulation, rule and regulation amendments, and decision-making at national and provincial levels to remove production barriers, facilitate investment, production, and export activities, and import raw materials and equipment for production, all in compliance with relevant laws.
2.2. Reviewing and deciding on prioritizing the supply of raw materials and equipment required by production units, with emphasis on sourcing from domestic resources.
2.3. Reviewing and deciding on policies for facilitating access to and providing the infrastructure needed by production units in compliance with relevant laws.
2.4. Reviewing and deciding on removing obstacles faced by production units in all areas related to production and export, aiming to enhance competitive production, stabilize or increase employment, improve productivity, and boost exports, in compliance with relevant laws.
2.5. Reviewing and deciding on removing investment barriers and helping to complete and operate semi-finished projects.
2.6. Reviewing and deciding on determining debts and financing needs of the production and trade sectors.
2.7. Reviewing and deciding on conflicts between production units and executive bodies and deciding on cases referred by the task forces.
Section 3: The Validity of the Headquarters’ Enactments
Before discussing the validity and power of the headquarters’ enactments, we will review the different types of government regulations to determine the legal standing of the headquarters’ enactments as a form of enforceable government regulation.
1. Definition of Government Regulations:
Government regulations refer to enactments issued by competent authorities other than the parliament and include various forms such as regulations, statutes, bylaws, instructions, and enactments. These enactments, like laws, establish rights and obligations, are general and impersonal, and have mandatory legal enforceability, ranking just below laws. They come in different forms:
1.1. Statutes:
Statutes are regulations that define the purpose of the organization and regulate its internal affairs and structure.
1.2. Bylaws:
These are regulations that create rights and obligations and have the characteristics of laws. They can be categorized into:
1. Bylaws implementing laws
2. Independent bylaws
3. Bylaws that replace laws
1.2.1. Bylaws Implementing Laws:
These regulations are enacted to implement laws and complement them. They are sometimes referred to as complementary bylaws.
1.2.2. Complementary Executive Bylaws:
If the law explicitly or implicitly mandates the executive branch to enact implementing regulations, they are called complementary executive bylaws. For the Production Support and Barriers Removal Headquarters, the legislator has stipulated that the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade must prepare the necessary executive bylaws in consultation with the Government-Private Sector Dialogue Council and submit them to the cabinet for approval within two months of the law’s enactment.
1.2.3. Ad Hoc Executive Bylaws:
If the law is silent on implementing bylaws and the executive branch cannot implement the law without issuing regulations, necessitating the issuance of regulations, they are called ad hoc executive bylaws.
1.2.4. Independent Bylaws:
These regulations, unlike the previous ones, are not based on a specific law but are enacted to carry out the responsibilities related to managing affairs or for administrative or judicial tasks.
1.2.5. Bylaws Replacing Laws:
Some countries and legal systems anticipate a period when the parliament is dissolved or the legislative session ends without forming a new parliament or the previous parliament continues its work. In such cases, the legislative duty falls on the executive branch. It should be noted that in Iran, according to Article 68 of the Constitution, such a period is not anticipated.
1.3. Decrees:
Decrees refer to general regulations issued by a panel of high-ranking administrative officials, such as the cabinet or resolutions of councils. Dr. Jafar Langroudi defines decrees as “regulations issued by the cabinet, whether their content is a bylaw or not.”
1.4. Instructions:
These regulations specify the methods of implementation and operational techniques of laws and other regulations and generally do not create rights and obligations but simply define operational techniques and methods.
1.5. Decisions and Enactments:
Typically, any enforceable regulation is referred to as an enactment without a specific title, such as the enactments of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution and the government’s enactments. Decisions also refer to individual enactments, such as the decisions of the president’s special representatives as per Article 127 of the Constitution.
1.6. Circulars:
The old term for these is “Mutahidal-Maal” and refers to regulations and instructions issued by executive bodies and their officials
for their staff. These regulations pertain to the internal affairs of the agencies and, due to the lack of rights and obligations for the public, cannot be cited outside the administration, particularly in courts.
By outlining the different types of government regulations, the legal status of the enactments of the Production Support and Barriers Removal Headquarters as enforceable government regulations becomes evident. The enactments of this headquarters fall under the category of enforceable government resolutions, and violating them is considered administrative misconduct under certain conditions. It is important to note that all regulations, both formally and substantively, must adhere to a set of rules and features outlined below:
1. They must be approved by a competent legal authority.
2. They must align with the law.
3. The competent authorities must not exceed their jurisdiction.
4. The formal requirements for enacting regulations must be followed.
Given what has been stated and considering that the enactments of the Production Support and Barriers Removal Headquarters are on par with the cabinet’s resolutions, it can be concluded that these enactments rank below ordinary laws. However, they are not exempt from the conditions mentioned above and must adhere to all the conditions and rules governing the enactment of regulations. Having clarified the legal status of the enactments of this headquarters, the next section will delve into the enforcement mechanisms for the non-compliance of these enactments.
Section 4: Enforcement Mechanisms for Non-Compliance with the Headquarters’ Enactments
Regarding the concept of enforcement mechanisms, it has been said that when a law is violated by a member of society, public power is activated to maintain order and restore the rights undermined by violating that law, and this response is called an enforcement mechanism. Therefore, the enforcement mechanism refers to part of the public power that necessarily reacts against the law violator. Administrative enforcement also refers to the reaction and response of the administrative system to the violation or violations of government officials and employees. A violation is when government officials exceed or disregard administrative laws and regulations while performing their duties.
The legislator, through clauses 2, 3, and 13 of Article 8 of the Administrative Violations Law enacted in 1992, has classified violations of laws and regulations, failure to perform or delay in performing legal duties, and disobedience to implementing orders from higher authorities within administrative duties as administrative violations. It has prescribed administrative penalties in Article 9 of the same law. Moreover, Article 576 of the fifth book of the Islamic Penal Code enacted in 1996 states:
“If any of the officials, employees, or servants of the government or municipalities, regardless of their rank and position, misuse their position and prevent the implementation of written government orders, the enforcement of national laws, or the implementation of judgments or orders from judicial authorities or any directive issued by legal authorities, they shall be sentenced to one to five years of suspension from government services.”
As mentioned, the enactments of the Production Support and Barriers Removal Headquarters are considered enforceable government regulations. Therefore, the Attorney General, through Circular No. 9000/22097/1397/140, dated November 13, 2018, emphasized the need to comply with the enactments of the headquarters to resolve the problems of production units. He has urged public prosecutors to collaborate and assist the headquarters in protecting public rights and, in cases where the headquarters files complaints, to pursue and investigate them promptly in accordance with the established laws and regulations.
