"Khatami may quit if hard-liners block changes"

TEHRAN, Sept 24 (AFP) - Iranian President Mohammad Khatami will have no choice but to resign if the Islamic republic's powerful conservative camp continues to stall his reforms, his brother warned Tuesday.

"The president is seeking to find legal solutions to the problem," Mohammad-Reza Khatami, who heads the Islamic Iran Participation Front (IIPF), told reporters after a parliament session marked by a reformist bid to boost presidential powers.

But if they (the conservatives) wish to hold the president back with tension and political crisis he will have no choice but to resign," he added, reiterating a frequent threat from the reform camp.

President Khatami launched a parliamentary bid Tuesday to boost his limited powers, demanding authority to overturn rulings by the conservative-controlled judiciary that he deems run contrary to the constitution.

Khatami takes on the courts in bid to push reforms
http://www.iranmania.com/news/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=12224&NewsKind=CurrentAffairs

TEHRAN, Sept 24 (AFP) - Iran's reformist President Mohammad Khatami asked Majlis Tuesday for power to overturn court rulings he deems to be against the Constitution, setting up a head-on clash with his conservative opponents.

A bill introduced on Khatami's behalf to the reformist-dominated assembly to empower his reform agenda in the face of opposition from powerful hardliners also called for offenders in the judiciary to be suspended from office, according to a text obtained by AFP.

The bill seeks to assert the president's role as a "guarantor of the constitution" who can "intervene in all domains, in a manner that is absolute, general and unconditional, aside from those domains directly under the authority of the Guide" (supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.)

The bill would give Khatami the power to "order the suspension of (judicial or administrative) decisions and acts contrary to the constitution."

Following such an order, judicial decisions would be put on hold, the bill states.

Offenders in the judiciary risk a three month to one year ban from public office if they fail to cooperate with a proposed Constitutional council attached to the supreme court.

Frequent violators also risk a lifetime ban from office.

The proposed legislation would also make victims of miscarriages of justice eligible for damages.

Most of the members of the new council would be appointed by the parliament and the cabinet -- both currently dominated by reformists.

Iran's courts have been one of the main obstacles for Khatami, who was awarded crushing victories in his two presidential bids, first in 1997 and again last year on a ticket of promising greater democracy and the loosening up of the tightly controlled economy.

In particular they have jailed dozens of Khatami supporters and closed down more than a score of pro-reform newspapers.

Majlis speaker Mehdi Karrubi said the bill would first be discussed by the relevant parliamentary committees before being put to the vote.

The process could take several weeks, even if the Majlis, or parliament, is expected to prioritise the initiative.

If approved by MPs, the bill will face its biggest hurdle in the conservative-controlled Guardians Council, a major barrier to Khatami's reforms which screens proposed laws to ensure they are in accordance with the constitution and Islamic principles.

If, as expected, the Guardians Council rejects it, the final decision would then rest with the Expediency Council, an arbitration body headed by former president Ali Akbar Rafsanjani, which has consistently come down on the side of the conservatives.

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