Demolitions of Homes and Seizures of Land of the Bahá’í Minority in Iran: A (Constitutional) Property Law and International Law Perspective

Abstract

The Bahá’í community in Iran has been persecuted by the Islamic Republic for decades. Their members have not been able to worship in peace or exercise other fundamental rights and have been denied access to basic services. Farm seizures and the demolition of homes have also become commonplace. In 2019 and 2020 three Iranian courts approved such land seizures, holding that the landownership held by individual Bahá’í was illegitimate because their religion posed a threat to the Iranian state. This contribution examines these judgments from constitutional-law and international-law perspectives. It demonstrates that the seizures already fall foul of Iranian law because the seizures infringe fundamental rights of the Bahá’í under the Iranian constitution and the faith of an individual cannot justify such infringements. This contribution further shows that for similar reasons, the Iranian courts do not adhere to international best practice in constitutional property law. Also, the courts have failed to protect the religious and property rights of the Bahá’í under international human-rights treaties.

Keywords: Constitutional Property Law, Confiscation, Expropriation, Freedom of Religion, Housing Rights