Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei plans to appoint a new chief justice of Iran, anti-regime London-based outlet Iran International reported last week.
Sources told Iran International that the current Chief Justice, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i, is expected to be replaced at the end of his first five-year term.
The same sources said that the decision is not part of judicial reform per se, but rather part of a broader power restructuring following the recent war; the new supreme leader is seeking to align Iran’s various power centers more closely with his personal vision.
Iran International reported that the decision “comes amid growing criticism of Mohseni-Eje’i from hardline figures,” who saw him as being “at odds with Khamenei’s stated position,” especially in regard to the Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Iran.
During Iran’s Judiciary Week, an annual national observance dedicated to the country’s judiciary, Khamenei issued a message calling for the implementation of the Judicial Transformation Document, which, according to Iran International, is a strategic roadmap and long-term plan for guiding the Iranian judiciary. It aims to modernize, digitize, improve efficiency, and implement anti-corruption and public rights measures.
Chief Justice Mohseni-Eje’i defends his performance
According to Iran International, Mohseni-Eje’i published a letter in response to Khamenei’s message, defending the judiciary’s performance and committing to maintain the path of “judicial transformation.”
He wrote, “I and all components of the judiciary consider ourselves obliged to carry out Your Excellency’s binding commands precisely, swiftly and without any reduction.”
Various factions within the Iranian regime have mounted attacks on Mohseni-Eje’i, who, according to Iran International, has only stated his loyalty to Khamenei’s goals in this recent letter, after the security of his position came under fire.
Mohseni-Eje’i’s supporters defend him by pointing to reduced imprisonment, shorter trials, as well as the implementation of anti-corruption efforts and the use of electronic court proceedings as falling in line with the Judicial Transformation Document and the regime’s stated goals.
‘Judge of Death’ oversees array of human rights violations
Human rights organizations, on the other hand, such as Iran Human Rights Monitor, call out Mohseni-Eje’i as a key figure in the Islamic Republic’s repressive regime, with some naming him the “Judge of Death” because of his extensive record of orchestrating mass executions, torturing dissidents, and shutting down civil liberties.
Amnesty International said that during the January 2026 clampdowns on anti-government protests, Mohseni-Eje’i “ordered rapid prosecutions and ‘deterrent’ punishments,” publicly boasting about “ordering harsher charges against arrested protesters than those leveled by prosecutors,” as well as ordering the interrogation of protesters “without lawyers present in coerced ‘confessions’ broadcast on state media.”
Amnesty International also revealed that those sentenced to death or facing imminent execution under Mohseni-Eje’i’s directives included individuals who were under the age of 18 at the time of their alleged offenses, in direct violation of international law.
Iran International said that rights groups believe that Mohseni-Eje’i’s replacement would do little to bring meaningful change, so long as deep structural reform does not follow.
To them, his replacement amounts to little more than a cosmetic change.
