Iran's government maintains a large amount of control over all political activity, including the work of nongovernmental organizations. According to the Political Parties Law of 1981, a group wishing to register itself must submit documentation to the Ministry of the Interior, which refers the request to a Political Parties Commission that decides whether to grant the group a license. This commission, created by Article 10 of the Political Parties Law, is composed of members of the conservative judiciary, parliament, and the Ministry. The commission does not have the power to order the closure of a political group, but can refer the case to a special court which can do so, under Article 168 of the Constitution.

Importantly, Article 12 of the law requires that the Interior Ministry issue the operating license if the Commission does not issue or deny a request for registration within three months. The Center for the Defense of Human Rights (named the Kanoon Modafean Hogooge Bashar), therefore, is not in violation of any law, since its submission for registration four years ago did not receive a reply from the commission.

In announcing the ban on the Center's activities, a statement from the commission declared: "Since some individuals, under the guise of Kanoon Modafean Hogooge Bashar, have been initiating various activities that include the publication of statements and resolutions, press sessions, seminars and gatherings, petitions to authorities, institutions and various agencies inside and outside Iran, it is hereby announced that the charter and by laws of this group have not been approved by Committee for Article 10 of the Law on Party and Organization Activities. Therefore, any activity under the name of 'Kanoon-e Modafean Hogoog Bashar' is illegal and violators will be prosecuted accordingly."

Other political groups, such as the Freedom Movement of Iran, the Iran Nation Party and the National Front, have experienced similar difficulties under this law. The Freedom Movement, for example, requested to register as a political party in 1982, but was denied ten years later in 1992, without any reason being given. The group brought a suit against the commission before a civil court, which refused to rule on the decision.

The Center for the Defense of Human Rights is led by Shirin Ebadi, a former head of the Tehran City Court from 1975 until 1979, when women were banned from the post. Recipient of the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize, Ms. Ebadi has worked extensively in defending the rights of women and children in Iran. The Center's members are some of the most prominent lawyers in Iran, including Dr. Mohammad Seyfzadeh, Dr. Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, and Dr. Mohammad Sharif.

The Center's members, though under threat of arrest themselves, have represented approximately 500 cases, in addition to organizing human rights training seminars for journalists, and coordinating awareness-raising initiatives in Iran. It represents the large majority of all political prisoners in Iran, including students arrested in mass protests of 1999, web bloggers, and those intellectuals murdered by government agents in episodes known as "serial killings."

Ironically, the Center has also had to defend its own members who have also been arbitrarily detained for their work, such as Dr. Nasser Zarafshan, attorney for the families of the serial political killings. One of the Center's founders, Abdolfattah Soltani, remains in prison after publicly accusing the judiciary of a cover-up in the death in custody of Canadian-Iranian photographer Zahra Kazemi, who was beaten to death in 2003 by government agents.

The Center is the only member of the International Federation of Human Rights to not be recognized by its own government, and has been honored by the National Human Rights Commission of France.