The Persia Constitution of 1906 was Persia's first constitution that resulted from the Persian Constitutional Revolution and it was written by Ismail Mumtaz

Ismail Mumtaz

Ismail Mumtaz was a notable Iranian statesman of the early twentieth century. Born in Tabriz in 1880 of Azeri-Iranian descent, he was one of the original Parliamentarians of the First Majlis in 1906. He was also its fourth Speaker....

. It divides into five chapters with many articles that developed over several years. Major revisions went into effect after the ousting of Mohammed Mossadegh in 1953.

The electoral and fundamental laws of 1906

The electoral and fundamental laws of 1906 established the electoral system and the internal frameworks of the Majlis

Majlis of Iran

The National Consultative Assembly of Iran , also called The Iranian Parliament or People's House, is the national legislative body of Iran...

 (Parliament) and the Senate.

By the royal proclamation of August 5, 1906, Mozzafar al-Din Shah

Mozzafar al-Din Shah

Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar, KG was the fifth Qajar king of Iran. He reigned between the years 1896 and 1907.He is credited with the creation of the Iranian constitution, and often wrongly credited with the rise of the Persian Constitutional Revolution which took place immediately after his...

 created this first constitution "for the peace and tranquility of all the people of Persia." Muhammad Ali Shah Qajar is credited with chapters 4 and 5.

The electoral law of September 9, 1906

The electoral law of September 9, 1906 defined the regulations for the Elections to the Majlis.

Disfranchised

Article 3 of this chapter stated that (1) women, (2) foreigners, (3) those under 25, (4) "persons notorious for mischievous opinions," (5) those with a criminal record, (6) active military personnel, and a few other groups are not permitted to vote.

Election qualifications

Article 4 stated that the elected must be (1) fully literate in Persian

Persian language

Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...

, (2) "they must be Iranian subjects of Iranian extraction," (3) "be locally known," (4) "not be in government employment," (5) be between 30 and 70 years old, and (6) "have some insight into affairs of State."

Article 7 asserted, "Each elector has one vote and can only vote in one [social] class."

The fundamental laws of December 30, 1906

The fundamental laws of December 30, 1906 defined the role of the Majlis in the system and its framework. It further defined a bicameral legislature. Article 1 established the National Consultative Assembly based "on justice." Article 43 stated, "There shall be constituted another Assembly, entitled the Senate

Senate of Iran

The Senate House of Iran was the upper house legislative chamber during the Pahlavi dynasty and was disbanded after the Islamic Revolution in 1979 in Iran , when the legislature became unicameral...

."

The supplementary fundamental laws of October 7, 1907

The supplementary fundamental laws of October 7, 1907 established the charter of rights

Human rights

Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...

 and overall system of governance

Form of government

A form of government, or form of state governance, refers to the set of political institutions by which a government of a state is organized. Synonyms include "regime type" and "system of government".-Empirical and conceptual problems:...

.

Role of clerics

Article 1 and 2 of the laws, established Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

 as the official religion of Persia/Iran, and specified that all laws of the nation must be approved by a committee of Shi'a clerics. Later, these two articles were mainly ignored by the Pahlavis

Pahlavi dynasty

The Pahlavi dynasty consisted of two Iranian/Persian monarchs, father and son Reza Shah Pahlavi and Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi The Pahlavi dynasty consisted of two Iranian/Persian monarchs, father and son Reza Shah Pahlavi (reg. 1925–1941) and Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi The Pahlavi dynasty ...

, which sometimes resulted in anger and uprising of clerics and religious masses: (See: Pahlavis and non-Islamic policies)


One should notice however that the Law only says that the laws mustn't be against Islam, but not that the laws have to be Islamic, which is a big difference. Laws can indeed be un-islamic and not be at variance with any specified Islamic law. One mustn't forget that the Constitutional Revolution had for great role to suppress the too great power that the clergy and the religion had. It is important to notice that the Revolution gave rights to minorities such as Zoroastrians, Christians and Jews. http://www.gozaar.org/template1.php?id=425&language=english

Rights

Article 7 disallowed suspension of the constitution. Article 8 afforded "equal rights before the Law."

Article 9 accorded "All individuals (including foreigners per Article 6) are...safeguarded in respect to their lives, property, homes, and honor, from every kind of interference...." Articles 15-17 provided further security to land-owners.

With regard to the press

Freedom of the press

Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the freedom of communication and expression through vehicles including various electronic media and published materials...

, Article 20 promulgated, "All publications, except heretical books and matters hurtful to the perspicuous religion [of Islam] are free."

Tribunals of Justice

Article 71 entrenched "judicial tribunals...for the redress of public grievances, while judgment in all matters falling within the scope of the Ecclesiastical Law is vested in just mujtahids possessing the necessary qualifications."

See also

• Iranian constitutional referendum, 1963
  Iranian constitutional referendum, 1963
  A constitutional referendum was held in Iran on January 26, 1963. Voters were asked to approve or veto the reforms of the White Revolution of 1963, which included giving women the right to vote, making education at the primary level compulsory, and privatising many factories...
  
  
• Constitution of Islamic Republic of Iran
  Constitution of Islamic Republic of Iran
  The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran was adopted by referendum on October 24, 1979, and went into force on December 3 of that year, replacing the Constitution of 1906. It was amended on July 28, 1989. The constitution has been called a "hybrid" of "authoritarian, theocratic and...
  
  

External links

• A version for 1906-1955 without later revisions. This externally linked document may differ from the 1979 Pahlavi constitution.
• Constitutional Revolution from Iran Chamber Society