Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada has endorsed the November 2025 special report, entitled, No Defence: A Report on the Status of Lawyers and the Bar Associations in Iran, by the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute and the the Centre for Supporters of Human Rights (CSHR), a non-governmental organisation dedicated to advocating for sustainable peace and democracy in Iran and the broader Middle East.
This report provides an in-depth analysis of the legal, institutional, and systemic barriers that restrict lawyers in Iran from freely practicing their profession. It examines how a combination of restrictive laws, politically motivated prosecutions, security interference, and gender-based discrimination have increasingly undermined the ability of lawyers to carry out their duties without fear of retaliation. These pressures have not only compromised the independence of the legal profession but have also contributed to the broader erosion of the rule of law. By documenting specific cases and patterns, the report highlights the growing risks faced by Iranian lawyers and the shrinking space for legal advocacy and human rights defence in the country.
The report begins with a preface by Margaret Satterthwaite, UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers.
The report is formally endorsed by the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE), Lawyers for Lawyers, Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada, the International Observatory for Lawyer at Risk (OIAD), and the Ordre des Avocats de Genève. See the full report pdf
