Revisions in the Constitution

Article 177: Revisions in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran can take place in urgent cases as follows. After consultation with the Expediency Council, the leadership, in a statement addressed to the President of the Republic, poses the instances that require correction or amendment to the constitution, to the Council of Reevaluating the constitution, which consists of the following:

1. members of the Guardian Council;
2. the heads of the three powers;
3. the permanent members of the Expediency Council;
4. five members of the Assembly of Experts;
5. ten individuals selected by the leadership;
6. three members of the Council of Ministers;
7. three individuals from the judiciary;
8. ten members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly;
9. three academics. The constitution determines the quality of the functions, the selections, and the conditions for the selections.

After the leader approves and signs the legislation of the Council, the proceedings must be put to public vote and be approved by the absolute majority of the participants in a referendum. The observation in Article 59 is not necessary in the referendum for “the reevaluation of the constitution.”

It is impossible to change the content of the articles which concern the Islamic nature of the system; establishment of all the laws and regulations on the bases of Islamic criteria and the faith and aims of the Islamic Republic of Iran; the form of the government as a republic; the sovereignty of the command [of God] and religious leadership of the community [of believers]; administration of affairs with reliance on general referendums, and the official religion and ideology of Iran.