Who is the Authorized Religious Authority?

Q: According to your esteemed opinion, what is meant by the word hakim of shar‘ (the authorized religious authority), is he the same mujtahid I follow in my taqlid or somebody else?

A: The authorized religious authority is the leader of Muslims who, in addition to his being qualified as marji‘, assumes the office of leadership of the nation. That is, if the country is governed by an Islamic government.

Regarding the countries/regions that are actually not under the control of the leader of Muslims, there is no objection that the people living there refer to the qualified mujtahid they follow in taqlid.