“The expediency council was expected to vote on Palermo bill [the bill that endorses Iran's accession to the UN Convention on Transnational Crime] and now it has passed the set deadline,” he said.
“Accordingly, the council cannot make any decisions about the bill,” he added.
“The Guardian Council could interfere with the issue before having the case referred to the Expediency council but now the final vote is the one issued finally by the Guardian Council i.e. the Palermo bill is off agenda,” he explained.
In mid-June, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) announced that Iran had to complete reforms that would bring it into line with global norms or face consequences until October.
However, it said that the FATF can only consider laws which are approved completely.
One of the actions Iran was required to take to appease the FATF is joining the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), which is also called the Palermo Convention, a 2000 United Nations-sponsored multilateral treaty against transnational organized crime.
The other action was to ratify the CFT, the convention combatting financing of terrorism.
On October 7, 2018, the Majlis (parliament) voted in favor of the CFT. However, the oversight Guardian Council rejected the bill by finding 22 faults with it.
To become a law, the Guardian Council should vet the bill for compliance with the Constitution.
In cases when the parliament and the Guardian Council disagree on a bill, the issue is referred to the Expediency Council for final arbitration.
MNA/FNA13980722000459