IRANIAN CIVIL CODE

IRANIAN CIVIL CODE
“Some of these laws have been changed by the legislature.”

THE CIVIL CODE OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN  

Preamble  

On the publication  

Effects and Execution  

of Laws in General  

Article I – The Islamic Consultative Assembly’s enactments and the results of the  referendum, having gone through legal procedures will be notified to the president of the  Republic. The President shall within five days sign them and notify them to executors,  and issue instruction to have them published, and the Official Gazette shall be required to  publish them within 72 hours after notification thereof.  

Note: In case of the President’s refusal to sign or notify an enactment within the time  period referred to in this Article, the Official Gazette shall be required to publish it within  72 hours on the order of the Chairman of the Islamic Consultative Assembly.  

Article 2 – The legislative enactments come into force throughout (lie country fifteen  days after their publication, unless a specific arrangement has been prescribed in the  given legislation itself to the timing of its enforcement  

Article 3 – The text of laws must be published in the Official Gazette  

Article 4 – A law shall be effective only as from the date of its coming into force, and  shall not be retrospective unless special provisions to this effect have been laid down in  its text  

Article 5 – All inhabitants of Iran, whether of Iranian or of foreign nationality, shall he  subject to the laws of Iran except in cases which the law has excepted.  

Article 6 – The laws relating to personal status, such as marriage, divorce, capacity and  inheritance, shall he observed by all Iranian subjects, even if resident abroad.  

Article 7 – Foreign nationals resident territory shall within the limits laid down by  treaties, be bound by the laws and decrees of the Government to which they are subject in  questions relating to their personal status and capacity. and similarly in questions relating  to rights of inheritance  

Article 8 – Immovable property, of which foreign nationals have taken possession or shall  take possession under the terms treaties, shall in every respect come within the scope of  the laws of Iran.  

Article 9 – Treaty stipulations which have been, in accordance with the Constitutional  Law, concluded between the Iranian Government and other government, shall have the  force of law.  

Article 10 – Private contracts shall be binding on those who have signed them, providing  they are not contrary to the explicit Provisions of a law. 

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Volume 1 – Concerning Property  

Book 1 – General Provisions Concerning Ownership  

Chapter 1 

In Definition of The Various kinds of Property  

Article 11 – Property is of two kinds, movable and immovable.  

Section 1  

Concerning Immovable Property  

Article 12 – Immovable property is that which cannot be transported from place to place  either because it is the nature of the thing to be fixed in one place or because, as the result  of human action, the damage or injury either to the property itself or its emplacement.  

Article 13 – Land and buildings and mills and everything which is fixed in a building and  is by common use considered apart of it are immovable, and similarly pipes which have  been laid under the ground or in a building for carrying water or for other purposes are to  be accounted immovable.  

Article 14 – Mirrors, Painted curtains, statues and similar objects, in so far as they are  attached to the ground or to a building in such a way that their removal would cause  injury or damage to their emplacements, are considered immovable.  

Article 15 – Fruits and crops shall be deemed immovable that they have not been picked  or reaped, and if a portion shall have been picked or reaped , only that portion shall be  accounted movable.  

Article 16 – In general, trees and branches thereof, young plants and cuttings, as long as  they have not been cut or dug, be considered immovable  

Article 17 – Animals and the equipment which the owner shall have provided specifically  for cultivation such as oxen, buffaloes, machines, implements and appurtenances of  husbandry, seeds etc and in general all movable goods which are necessary for the  prosecution of farming operations and have been devoted by the owner exclusively to this  purpose shall, for purposes of competency of courts and of attachment of property, be  considered as forming part of the landed property and shall be treated as immovable  property, as also shall pumps, oxen and other animals, appropriated for the irrigation of  fields, houses and gardens.  

Article 18 – Rights benefits from immovable objects such as a life interest, the right of  residence and similarly the rights of easements over the land of another. Such as the  rights of passages and of transit of water and the claims related to immovable property  such as demands for eviction and similar applications, shall follow the rules concerning  immovable property. 

۲  

Section 2  

Concerning Movable Property 

Article 19 – Articles which it is possible to transport from place, without causing damage  either to the articles themselves or to their emplacements, are considered movable.  

Article 20 – All debts arising out of loans, or the price of things sold, or the rent of things  leased shall, for purposes of competency of courts, be considered movable, even if the  thing sold or rented is itself immovable  

Article 21 – Ships, large and small, boats, mills, and bathhouses, plying on or situated  rivers or seas, and capable of movement and a II work places which, in view of the  manner of their construction do not form part of a permanent building, shall be accounted  movable, but the attachment of certain of the above – mentioned may, in view of their  importance, be carried out in accordance with special arrangements  

Article 22- Building materials such as stone, bricks, etc. which have been prepared for  use or because of some defect have become separated from the building, so long as they  have not been embodied in the building, shall be considered movable.  

Section 3  

Concerning Property Which Has No Private Owner  

Article 23- The use of a property which has no private owner shall be determined in  accordance with the relevant laws.  

Article 24- No one shall take possession of common roads and highways, nor of streets  which have no thoroughfare.  

Article 25- No one may take possession of property which serves the common good and  which has no private owner, such as bridges, caravanserais, pubic reservoirs, ancient  schools and public open places. And the same applies to the qanats and wells of which  their use is public.  

Article 26-Government property which is subject to public service and welfare such as  fortifications, fortresses, moats, military earthworks, arsenals, weapons, stores, warships  and similarly the furniture and buildings of the Government buildings and telegraph  wires, museums, public libraries, historical monuments and similar objects, in brief  whatever property movable or immovable is in use by the Government for the service of  the .public or the profit of the state, may not privately be owned. And the same provisions  shall apply to property which shall have been appropriated for the public service of a  province, city or a region or a town.  

Article 27 – The properties which are not privately owned and which private individuals,  in accordance with the regulations contained in this law and the especial laws dealing  with each particular category, are allowed to take into their possession and exploit, shall  be termed “mobahat” and under this heading shall come waste lands, that is to say, lands  which have fallen into disuse and on which are neither habitations nor cultivation. 

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Article 28 – Property of unknown ownership shall be the needs of the poor, subject to the  judge’s permission or that of a person authorized by him.  

CHAPTER 2  

CONCERNING THE VARIOUS RIGHTS WHICH ACCRUE  

TO PERSONS FROM THE POSSESSION OF PROPERTY  

Article 29 – It is possible for people to derive the following rights from property:  1- The right of possession (whether of the substance of the thing of its benefits).  2- The right of exploitation.  

۳- Rights of easement in the property of another.  

Section 1  

Concerning Ownership  

Article 30 – Every owner has unlimited rights of Occupation and exploitation over his  property in matters in which the law has made an exception  

Article 31 – No property can be alienated from the possession its owner except in  accordance with a legal order.  

Article 32 – All products and appurtenances of the property whether movable or  immovable produced naturally or as the result of exploitation are the property of the  owner.  

Article 33 – Products and crops which have come out of the ground are the property of  the owner of the land, whether their growth is natural or the result of the owner’s  operations, unless the product or crop has sprung from the roots or seeds of another party.  if this is the case the trees or crops shall be the property of the owner of the roots or  seeds, even if they have been sown without the approval of the owner of the land  

Article 34- The progeny of animals shall be of the same owner ship the mother, and  whoever is the owner of the mother shall he considered the owner of the offspring.  

Article 35 – Possession by title of ownership shall be taken as proof of ownership unless  the contrary proved.  

Article 37 – if the present occupier admits that the property formerly belonged to the  claimant, he can not urge, in refutation of the other’s claim, his own occupation of the  property, unless he can prove that the property has been transferred to him according to  the correct procedure  

Article 38 – The ownership of ground carries with it the owner ship of the air immediately  above it up to any height, and the same applies to the area under the ground; in brief, the  owner has unlimited rights of possession in the air and the ground, unless the law shall  have made provisions to the contrary. 

۴  

Article 39 – All buildings and trees above the ground and all buildings and excavations  beneath the ground shall be considered the property of the owner of the ground unless the  contrary be proved.  

Section 2  

Concerning the Right of Exploitation  

Article 40 – The right of exploitation comprises the right by which a person may derive  profit from property which either belongs in proprietary right to someone else or has no  special owner.  

Subsection 1  

Concerning Life – Rights for a Prescribed Period and  

Rights of Occupation  

Article 41- A Life – Right is a right of exploitation which has been established by means  of a contract entered into by the owner in favour of someone, either for his own lifetime  or for the lifetime of the user or for that of a third party.  

Article 42- Aright for a prescribed period is a right of exploitation which the owner  grants for a limited time.  

Article 43 – If the right of exploitation includes the right of occupying a habitation, it is  termed residential or the right of habitation and it is permissible for this right to be  assigned as life – right or as a right for a limited period  

Article 44 – In cases where the owner has not prescribed a time – limit for the right of  exploitation, the surrender is absolute, and the said right shall run until the death of the  owner unless he revokes the surrender before his death.  

Article 45 – in the above mentioned cases it is only permissible for the right of  exploitation to be granted to a person or persons who were alive at the time of creation of  the said right , but it is also possible for the right of exploitation to follow on in  succession for persons who were not alive at the time of the conclusion of the contract,  and as long as the owners of the right of exploitation are alive it shall be valid; and after  their decease it shall lapse.  

Article 46 – It is only possible for a right of exploitation to be granted in respect of  property which is such that it can be used without affecting its own existence, whether the  said property is movable, immovable held in undivided shares or divided up.  

Article 47 – In the case of surrendered property, whether held as a life – right or not,  taking delivery is the legal requirement for ma king the transaction valid.  

Article 48 – The user must not misuse the property to which the right of exploitation  applies and, being in custody of it, must not allow excessive use or negligence 

۵  

Article 49- The expenses necessary for the upkeep of the property which is subject to the  right of exploitation is not an obligation on the user, unless a provision to the contrary has  been agreed upon.  

Article 50 – If the property which is subject to the right of exploitation becomes  dissipated for any reason other than excessive use or negligence on part of the user , the  latter shall not be held responsible  

Article 51 – In the following cases the right of exploitation lapses:  

– In the event of the time – limit expiring.  

۲ – In the event of the property which is the object of the right of ex being destroyed.  Article 52 – In the following cases the user is a guarantor for the losses of the owner  

– In the event of the owner misusing the property which is the object of the right of  exploitation.  

۲ – In the event of his not observing the conditions laid down by the owner and of such  non – observance being the cause of damage to the object of the right.  

Article 53 – The transfer of the substance of the property by the owner to another party  shall not nullify the right of exploitation, but if the person to whom the property is  transferred does not know that the right of exploitation has been granted to another party  he shall have the option of dissolving the contract.  

Article 54 – The rest of the circumstances concerning the exploitation of the property of  another shall be as laid down by the owner or demanded by custom and usage.  

Subsection 2  

Concerning Endowment  

Article 55- An Endowment consists in the surrender of a property, and the devotion of its  profits to some purpose.  

Article 56- An endowment takes place when the donor makes an offer by any form of  words which definitely carry this meaning and when the first generation of beneficiaries,  or their legal representative if they are limited in number, as in the case of children,  accept it or if the beneficiaries are unlimited in number or the endowment be made for the  benefit of the public, then the acceptance of the judge is required.  

Article 57- The donor must be the owner of the property to be endowed and, in addition,  must be possessed of capacity to contract and to make valid transactions.  

Article 58- It is permissible to endow only such property as can be exploited without  detriment to its existence, whether it be movable, held in undivided shares or divided up.  

Article 59 – If the donor does not hand the substance of the endowment over to the  possession of the foundation to which it has been bequeathed, the endowment is not yet  complete, but once it has been delivered the endowment is authentic. 

۶  

Article 60- In respect delivery, urgency is not essential; so long as the donor has not  revoked endowment whenever is given the endowment becomes final  

Article 61- When the endowment takes place in the proper form and is delivered, it is  binding, and the donor is not permitted revoke it nor to make any alterations in it, nor ma  he expel any one of the beneficiaries, nor make any new beneficiaries; nor, if in the text  of agreement the administrator is not specified, may he appoint an administrator, nor may  he interfere in the capacity of administrator.  

Article 62- In the event of the beneficiaries being limited in number they themselves shall  take delivery, and delivery to the first generation shall be sufficient; and if the  beneficiaries are unlimited or the bequest is to be devoted to the public use, either the  administrator or the judge shall take delivery.  

Article 63- The guardian and executor of persons who are under disability will take  delivery of the endowed property on their behalf and if the donor has reserved the office  of administrator to himself, then the fact of his taking delivery shall suffice.  

Article 64- Property of which the profits are temporarily granted to another party can be  the object of an endowment, and similarly it is permissible to endow landed property to  which a right of easement is attached, without prejudicing the said right.  

Article 65- The validity of an endowment which may result the detriment of the donor’s  creditors, is dependent on the permission of the creditors  

Article 66- An endowment for an unlawful purpose is null and void. Article  

۶۷- The endowment of property of which it is not possible to give and take delivery is  null and void, but if the donor alone is not capable of taking and giving delivery, then  such an endowment is valid.  

Article 68- Anything which, either by nature or in accordance with usage and custom is  reckoned as forming part of the dependencies and appurtenances of the endowed  property, is in the endowment, unless the donor has made special provision to the  contrary, in the sense mentioned in the Chapter Concerning Sales.  

Article 69- An endowment for the benefit of non – existent persons is invalid, unless it  follows in succession from living beneficiaries.  

Article 70- If an endowment is made jointly to persons who do not exist and to persons  living, it is valid in so far as it concerns the living and null and void in so far as it  concerns those who do not exist  

Article 71- Endowments to persons unknown have no validity.  

Article 72- An endowment for the benefit of the donor himself in such a way that the  donor makes himself the sole beneficiary or one of the beneficiaries or provides for the  payment of his debts or other obligations out of the profits of the endowed is null and  void, whether it’ is concerned with his life time or with the period after his decease  

Article 73- Endowments to children, relatives, servants or guests and so on, are valid.  

Article 74- In the case of an endowment for the public use, if the donor also becomes  entitled to benefit under the endowment he is permitted to benefit. 

۷  

Article 75- The donor may reserve to himself the administration, that is to say, the  management of the affairs of the property, either for his lifetime or for some specified  period, and also may appoint as administrator some other person who either  independently or in conjunction with the donor, shall administer the property. The  administration of the endowed property may be handed over to one or more persons other  than the donor who will carry out the administration either individually or jointly, and  similarly the donor may lay down the condition that he himself or the administrator  appointed, may arrange for an administrator , or may make provision for any  arrangements to that effect which he deems fit.  

Article 76-Any one whom the donor has designated as administrator has the option, in the  first instance, of accepting or refusing the trusteeship; once he has accepted he cannot  withdraw; and, once he has refused, it is as if he had never been designated as  administrator  

Article 77-In any case in which the donor has vested the administration in two or more  persons independently, when one of them deceases, the other or others take possession  individually and if it be laid down that such taking possession shall be collective, then an  act of taking possession on the part of anyone of the administrators shall not be valid  unless it has the approval of the other or others, and after the death of one of them the  judge shall appoint a person to be added to the survivors in order that they may jointly  enter into possession.  

Article 78- The donor may appoint a supervising trustee without whose knowledge and  approval no administrative act may take place  

Article 79 – Neither the donor nor the judge can remove an administrator who has been  specifically appointed in the deed of endowment, unless such a right shall have been  provide for, and if the administrator be shown to he dishonest, the judge shall co-opt a  trustee.  

Article 80- If the donor has made a special provision concerning the qualifications of the  administrator, and the administrator loses those qualifications, he ceases to act as an  administrator.  

Article 81- In the case of endowment to the public, if the donor has not appointed an  administrator, the management of the affairs of the endowed property shall be carried in  accordance with the views of “Wali-ye-Faqih”.  

Article 82- In all cases in which the donor has made special arrangements of the estate,  the administrator shall carry out these arrangements, and if no arrangement are laid down,  he shall act with regard to repairs, leases and the collection of profits and their division  among the beneficiaries and the maintenance of the property and so on, like a trustworthy  agent.  

Article 83- The administrator may not entrust the administration to another unless the  donor has given permission in the text of the deed of endowment, but if in the deed of  endowment it is not stipulated that he shall personally administer the property, he may  appoint an agent. 

۸  

Article 84- It is permissible for the donor to make provision for a portion of the profits of  the estates to be devoted to the remuneration of the administrator, and info remuneration  for the administrator has been specified the administrator is entitled to a fair remuneration  

Article 85- After the profits of the estate have been realized and apportioned, each of the  beneficiaries specified may take possession of the portion, even if the administrator  withholds permission, unless the donor has made such permission a condition of  possession.  

Article 86- Should the donor not have made special provision, the expenses for upkeep  and repairs and for the operations necessary for the exploitation of the estate shall be  prior charge before the rights of the beneficiaries.  

Article 87-The donor may lay down that the profits of the estate be divided between the  beneficiaries equally or unequally, to that the division shall be made at the discretion of  the administrator or of some other person to divide the profits as he thinks best.  

Article 88- The sale of the estate in the event of its suffering damage, or of fears being  entertained that damage will be incurred of such a kind as to render it incapable of  exploitation, is permissible, provided that the maintenance of it is impossible, or that no  one can be found to undertake it.  

Article 89- Whenever part of an estate becomes damaged or liable to damage in such a  way that exploitation is rendered impossible, that portion shall be sold, unless the damage  to that portion is detrimental to the exploitation of the remainder, in which case the whole  estate shall be sold.  

Article 90- An endowment which is allowed to be sold shall be converted into an estate  which is as near as possible to the intentions of the donor.  

Article 91- In the following cases the profits of the estate endowed for the public shall be  expended on public services  

۱ – In cases where it is not known how the profits of the estate are to be expended, unless  there exist some indications as to the donor’s real desires.  

۲- In cases in which the expenditure of the profits of the estate in the special manner laid  down by the testator is impossible.  

Subsection 3  

Concerning the Enjoyment of Rights Open to Everyone (Mubahat)  

Article 92- Everyone may, in accordance with the laws and regulations applicable to each  one of them, derive benefits from rights open to everyone (Mhahat).  

SECTION 3  

Concerning the Rights of Easement Concerning the Property of  Another and the Rights and Privileges Appertaining to a Landed  Property in Relation to Adjacent Property 

۹  

Subsection I  

Concerning Rights of Easement Relating to the Property of Others  

Article 93- The Right of Easement is a right held by one person on the property of  another.  

Article 94- Owners of property may grant to others such rights as they please on their  own property, and in this case the basis of a claim arises out of a deed or contract in  virtue o which the right was granted  

Article 95- Wherever someone’s channel for running water or rain has passed through the  land or house of another person, the owner of that house or land cannot prevent their  passage, unless the absence of his right is proved  

Article 96- A spring situated in someone’s land belongs to the owner of that land, unless  another person has rights over its substance or its profits.  

Article 97 – Whenever a person has for along time had a water channel running through  the house or property of another to his own property or, has had a right in his favour, the  owner of that house or land shall not hinder the taking of water nor its passage through  his property, and similarly with regard to rights such as holding rights in doors, openwork  windows, aqueducts, irrigation channels and so on.  

Article 98- If the owner of a property has given permission to pass through it to’ some  one who cannot do so by right, he may rescind his permission whenever he wishes and  prevent the other from passing through; and similarly with other rights of easement.  

Article 99- No one has the right to take his water channel into the property of another, nor  to cause rain water from his roof to flow onto the roof of the property of another, nor to  throw snow on to it unless he has permission from the owner.  

Article 100- if the water channel of one person passes through the house of another, and  if it becomes damaged in such way as to cause damage to the house, the owner of the  house has no right to oblige the owner of the channel to repair it, but he himself must take  steps to prevent it from causing him loss. Should the damage to the channel obstruct the  passage of water, the owner of the house is not obliged to repair the channel, but the  owner of the right of passage must himself remove the obstruction, and to make the  repairs may enter the house or land, but except when there is such a necessity, he has no  right of entry, without the permission of the owner.  

Article 101- Whenever someone derives profit, such as the working of a mill or similar  things, from water which is the property of someone else in accordance with some right,  the owner of the water cannot change the course of the channel in such way as to prevent  this right from being profitably exercised.  

Article 102- Whenever an estate is transferred either in its entirety or in part to someone  else, rights of easement over another estate or portion of it being included therein, such  rights remain unchanged unless there be a stipulation to the contrary.  

Article 103-Whenever the partners in a property possess rights and benefits and that  estate is divided between them, each partner shall in proportion to his share, become the 

۱۰  

owner of those rights e. g. , if an estate possessing the right of passage through another  estate be divided between several persons, they each have the same right of passage as  before over the said place.  

Article 104- A right of easement necessarily implies the exploitation of that right e.g., if a  person has the right of taking water from the springs, tanks or reservoirs of others, he  shall have the right of passage to such springs, tanks and reservoirs for the drawing of  water.  

Article 105-Any expenses which may be necessary for the enjoyment of a right of  easement are a charge upon the owner of that right, unless an agreement to the contrary  has been arrived at between him and the owner of the property.  

Article 106- The owner of a property on which another person has a right of easement  cannot use his property in such way as to result in damage, or suspension of the said right  ,except with the permission of the owner of the right.  

Article 107- The benefits attaching to a right of easement are valid to the extent agreed  upon , or to the extent recognized by common usage, and necessitated by the exigencies  of exploitation.  

Article 108- in all cases where a person’s exploitation of another person’s property rests  upon a simple permission, the owner can withdraw his permission whenever he pleases,  unless there exists a legal impediment to this.  

Subsection 2  

Concerning the Rights and Privileges Appertaining to a Property in  Relation to Adjacent Property  

Article 109-A wall situated between two properties is considered as common property of  the owners of the two properties, unless there is an indication or reason to the contrary.  

Article 110- Building by placing marks, or the placing of a beam, are among the  indications which denote occupation and exclusive rights.  

Article 111- Wherever there are buildings adjoining the wall in a permanent manner on  both sides, or beams are placed on the wall on both sides, the wall is deemed common  property unless the contrary is proved.  

Article 112- Wherever there are circumstances of exclusive right on one side only, the  whole wall is deemed to belong to the owner of that side, unless the contrary is proved  

Article 113 – Expenses in connection with a common wall are a charge upon those who  have a share in it.  

Article 114- Neither of the partners can oblige the other to build or repair a common wall,  unless there is no other method of avoid in loss  

Article 115- in a case where a common wall is damaged and one of partners refuses to  repair it or to allow it to be taken in hand for common building operations, the other  partner can repair his own special of the wall. 

۱۱  

Article 116- If one of the partners agrees to the other taking the wall in hand for building  operations, but declines to bear the expenses, the other partner can repair the wall, and in  this, case if the new fabric is made with common materials, the wall will be a common  wall, otherwise it belongs to the partner who has repaired it.  

Article 117- if one of the partners damages a common wall and the damaging of it was  unnecessary, he must rebuild what he has destroyed.  

Article 118- Neither of’ the two partners has the right to raise a common wall, or to  impose a structure or place a beam on it, or to open a window or a niche in it, or make  any kind of change, except with the permission of the other partner.  

Article 119- If one of the partners has beams on a common wall, he cannot change their  position and place them on another part of the wall without the consent of the other  partner.  

Article 120- if the owner of a wall gives his neighbor permission to place a beam upon  his wall or to build on it, he can with draw his permission whenever he please, unless he  has bound himself to forego this right  

Article 121- If someone has placed a beam upon a wall with the permission of the owner  of the wall, and then removes it, he cannot replace it except with fresh permission from  the owner of the wall; and the same applies to other encroachments.  

Article 122- If a wall is leaning over towards another property or a highway, or the like,  in such a way that it is near to collapsing, the owner of it is obliged to pull it down.  

Article 123- If a house or a piece of land is divided between two persons, one of them  cannot oblige the other to join with him in erecting a wall between the two parts.  

Article 124- If a beam of a building has in the past rested on a neighbour’s private wall  and the past history of this occupation. is unknown, it must remain in its former state, and  if by reason of the building, the beam is removed, the owner of the building can renew it,  and the neighbour has no right to prevent him from doing so, unless he proves that the  former state of affairs had been brought into being solely by permission.  

Article 125- If a lower storey belongs to one person and an upper storey to 3omeone else,  each of the owners can make normal use of his own special part, but as regards the  ceiling between the two storey, each of the owners can use the floor or ceiling of this own  special part only in such normal ways as not to interfere with the rights of the other.  

Article 126- The owner of a lower apartment and the owner of an upper apartment are  acknowledged as the sole possessors of the lower and upper apartments respectively, and  as the joint possessor of the ceiling between the two apartments.  

Article 127- An Upper staircase is a accounted the property of the owner of the upper  storey, unless the contrary is proved.  

Article 128- Neither of the owners of an upper and lower storey can oblige the other to  repair, or help. to repair, their walls and ceiling  

Article 129- If a ceiling between an upper and lower apartment is damaged and the two  owners do not agree as to its repairs, and no binding agreement between them has  formerly existed, and if one of the owners repairs the ceiling as a pious act, the ceiling is 

۱۲  

a common one of it has been made with common materials, and belongs to the person  who has built it ,if made with private materials  

Article 130- No person possesses the right to put up a projecting porch on his house over  looking his neighbour’s courtyard without the latter’s permission; and if he has put up  such a porch without permission, he will be obliged to remove it.  

Article 131- If a branch of someone’s tree enter the courtyard of his neighbour’s house or  into his land, the owner must bend it back, and if he does not, his neighbour can bend it  back, and if he does not succeed, he can cut it away from the boundary of his property;  and these provisions apply also to roots of trees which enter another’s property  

Article 132- A person cannot make use of this property in such a manner as necessarily to  involve a neighbour in loss, except such use as is customary and is required in order to  satisfy his needs or to avoid loss.  

Article 133- A person cannot put a door in a wall of his house leading to a neighbour  house, even if the wall is his private property; but he can make an aperture or a lattice in  his own private wall, and his neighbour has no right to prevent him, but can put up a wall  or a curtain in front of the aperture or lattice to prevent his seeing through it.  

Article 1 34- None of the partners in a ferry or a water – course can prevent the other  partners from crossing it or taking water away.  

Article 135- Trees, pits and the like, which separate properties will be subject to the same  provisions as partition walls.  

Subsection 3  

Concerning the Borders of Properties  

Article 136- The borders of a quantity of land are the boundaries of the property, the  water channels, the streams and the like, which are necessary for the complete  exploitation of the land.  

Article 137- The borders of a well are 20 gaz for drinking water and 30 gaz for  cultivation 1.  

Article 138- The borders of a spring or a qanat (water channel) are 500 gaz on all sides in  loose earth, and 250 gaz in hard earth; but if the distances on all sides in loose earth, and  250 gaz in hard earth; but if the distances mentioned in this and the proceeding Article  are not enough to avoid loss, distances to the extent required to prevent loss shall be  added to them.  

Article 139- Borders are governed by the provisions applicable to the property of the  owner of the borders and any occupation or use of them which is contrary to the purpose  of the borders is invalid without permission from the owner; and therefore nobody can  dig a well or water channel (qanat) within the borders of another spring or channel. But  activities which do not cause loss are permissible. 

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BOOK 2  

Causes of Ownership 

Article 140- Ownership is acquired  

۱- By the rehabilitation of waste land and the annexation of the allowable properties.  2- By means of contracts and obligations.  

۳- By acquisition in virtue of a right of pre-emption.  

۴- By inheritance.  

Part 1  

Concerning the Rehabilitation of Waste Land  

And Annexation of Allowable Properties  

Chapter 1  

Rehabilitation of Waste Lands  

Article 141- Actions directed towards the reclamation of land are those which make  waste and unclaimed land profitable by means of operations which are included by  custom under the heading of cultivation, such as husbandry, tree planting, building etc.  

Article 142- To begin to cultivate land e.g . by arranging stones round a plot or by  digging a well etc: is called leveling (Tahjir) and does not bring about ownership ; but it  creates for him who has performed the leveling, a prior right to carry out the cultivation.  

Article 143- A person who cultivates with the intention of taking possession thereof, a  part of a stretch of waste and unclaimed land, becomes the owner of that part.  

Article 144- The reclamation of the boundaries of a piece of land involves the ownership  of the middle of it also.  

Article 145- The cultivator must observe in every respect the other laws relating to this  subject.  

Chapter 2  

Annexation of Allowable Properties  

Article 146- Annexation means occupation and laying hands upon a thing, or the  preparation of the means of annexation or occupation.  

Article 147- A person who annexes allowable properties and observes the relevant laws  becomes the owner of them.  

Article 148- A person who digs a canal in a piece of unclaimed land and joins it to a river  has made that canal and becomes the owner of it; but while it is still separate from the  river it is accounted as leveling 

۱۴  

Article 149-If a person digs a stream or a channel for the purpose of annexing unclaimed  water, the unclaimed water which flows into this stream or channel belongs to the owner  of the channel, and another stream cannot be opened from it, or land watered from it  without the owner’s permission.  

Article 150- If several persons are partners in the digging of a channel or a well ,they  become the owners of the water in proportion the labour and expense which has been  effective in bringing about improvements, and the water will be divided between them in  the same proportion.  

Article 151 – None of the partners can open up another channel from a common channel,  or broaden or narrow the mouth of a stream or build a bridge or a mill over, or plant trees  beside it, or make any use of it, except with the permission of the other partners.  

Article 152-If the appointed share of water of one o the partners in a common stream  flows into a private channel belonging to him, that water becomes his private property,  and he can use it in any way.  

Article 153-If a stream is common to a number of people, and there is a dispute about the  size of each man’s share, they shall be judged to have equal shares, unless there exists a  reason for the share of some of them to exceed others.  

Article 154- A person cannot carry water to his property across the property of another  person without the latter’s permission, even if there is no other route.  

Article 155- Everyone has the right to irrigate his land form an unclaimed stream or to  pen up another stream it for his land or his mill or his other needs.  

Article 156- If the water of a stream is not enough to irrigate all the land round it and the  owners of the land are in dispute about priority and non – priority, and none of them can  prove a right of priority, every piece of land which is nearer to the source of the water  shall, in due order, have the right of priority over land which is lower down, to the extent  of its needs.  

Article 157- If two pieces of land on both sides of stream are also situated opposite each  other and the right of property of one over the other is not established, and both owners  wish to draw water at the same time, and the water is not enough for both, they must  draw lots in drawing water in proportion to their shares, and if the water is enough for  both, they will divide it in proportion to their shares.  

Article 158- If the dates of the beginning of cultivation of lands bordering on a river are  different, the land first cultivated has a prior claim to the water over land cultivated later,  even though it is situated lower than the latter.  

Article 159- If a person wishes to cultivate for the first time a piece of land bordering on  a river , and there is a surplus of water and the owners of the existing plots will not be  hampered, he can irrigate the new land with the water from this river ; otherwise he has  no right to draw water, even if his land is higher than the other lands.  

Article 160- if a person digs a qanat (water channel) or a well in his own land or in  unclaimed land for the purpose of annexing it, in order that he shall reach water or cause  water to flow, he becomes the owner of the resulting water, but so long as he has not  struck in unclaimed land, his activities are accounted as leveling. 

۱۵  

Chapter 3  

Concerning Mines  

Article 161- A mine situated in somebody’s land belongs to the owner of the land, and  the working of it will be subject to special laws.  

Chapter 4  

Concerning Found Objects and Lost Animals  

Section 1  

Found Objects  

Article 162- A person who finds an object worth less than one Dirham1 weighing 12.6  noknods silver can take possession of it.  

Article 163 – if the object found is worth one Dirham, weighing 12.6 noknods silver, must  announce the finding for one year; if the owner of the object does not appear within this  time, the finder is entitled to keep it in trust or to make use of it. In the event of his  keeping it in trust and being destroyed through no fault of his, he will not be responsible  for it.  

Note: If the finder acquires knowledge at the beginning or before the end of one year that  announcement is of no avail, or if he loses the hope of discovering the owner of the  object, he will be released of the obligation to make the announcement.  

Article 164- An announcement of the finding of an object consists in publishing and  advertising according to religious requirements in such a way that the finding of the  object is brought to the notice of the inhabitants of a place in a customary way.  

Article 165- Anyone who finds an object in a deserted or ruined place, which is  uninhabited and which is not privately owned, can take possession of such an article need  not announce it, unless it is evident that it belongs to present time, in which case it will be  considered in the same way as other objects found in inhabited places.  

Article 166- If anyone finds an object on another’s property or on property that has been  bought from another and presumes that the article belongs to the proprietor or the former  proprietors, he must inform them. If these proprietors claim the object and if there is  some proof of their ownership, the object must be returned to them. Otherwise the finder  must deal with the object in the manner already prescribed  

Article 167- If the object found is not durable but is perishable, it must be sold at a  reasonable price and this price will be considered as the property itself.  

Article 168- If the object found no longer exists when its discovery is reported, through  no fault of the finder, he shall not be held responsible  

Article 169- When an object has been found, any profit accruing to it belongs to the  former owner till such time as the finder has established his right to keep it ; after that,  the profits belong to the finder 

۱۶  

Section 2  

On Lost Animals  

Article 170- A lost animal is an animal possessed by someone which is found without  being in anyone’s possession. Animals, however, on their grazing grounds or near a  watering place or those capable of defending themselves from ferocious animals cannot  be considered as lost.  

Article 171- Anyone who finds a lost animal must return it to its owner, or if the owner is  unknown, he must deliver it to the judge or his substitute. If he does not do this, the  finder will be held responsible for the animal, even if he released it after taking  possession of it.  

Article 172- If a lost animal is found inhabited area and the finder, though he has access  to a judge or his substitute, fails to hand over the animal, he will not be entitled to claim  eventually from, the owner expenses incurred. When an animal has been found in an  uninhabited area, the finder can claim any expenses from the owner so long as he has  gained no benefit himself from the animal. Otherwise the expenses incurred will be  brought into account against any benefit gained and only the balance will be claimable by  the finder or the owner as the case may be.  

Chapter 5  

On Buried Tresure 

Article 173- Buried treasure is that found by chance below ground or buildings.  

Article 174- Buried treasure of which the owner is not known is the property of the  finder.  

Article 175- if treasure is found by someone buried on the property of another person, he  must inform that owner ; in case the latter claims the treasure and can prove his claim, the  treasure will belong to the person who claims ownership  

Article 176- When treasure is found buried in unclaimed land it shall belong to the finder.  

Article 177- Jewels found in the sea belong to their finder. Flotsam and jetsam also  belong to the finder.  

Article 178- Articles which have sunk in the sea and have been abandoned by their owner  belong to the one who retrieves them.  

Chapter 6  

On Games  

Article 179- Captured wild animals belong to the pursuer.  

Article 180- Capture of tame animals and of other animals that bear marks of ownership  does not confer ownership. 

۱۷  

Article 181 – If anyone prepares a hive or a place for bees, the bees and the honey shall be  his property. Similarly pigeons gathered in a pigeon tower belong to the owner of the  tower.  

Article 182-Other game laws will be laid down in special regulations.  

PART 2  

Regarding Contracts, Transactions And Obligations  

Chapter 1  

Contracts and Obligations in General  

Article 183 – A contract is made when one or more persons make a mutual agreement  with another one or more persons, on a certain thing, and that agreement is accepted by  the latter person.  

Section 1  

Different Types of Contracts and Transactions 

Article 184 – Contracts and transactions are divided into the following categories a  binding contract – a revocable contract – an optional contract – an unconditional contract –  conditional contract .  

Article 185- A binding contract is one which cannot be broken by either party except  under specified circumstances.  

Article 186 – A revocable contract can be cancelled by either party whenever he likes  Article 187 – A contract may be binding one party but revocable by the other  

Article 188 – An optional contract can be cancelled by either party, by both parties or by  third party.  

Article 189 – An unconditional contract is one which is not, in the intention of the  makers, contingent upon any outside matter Otherwise it is a conditional contract.  

Section 2  

On the Essential Conditions for the Validity of a Transaction  

Article 190 – For the validity of a contract the following conditions  

are essential:  

I – The intention and mutual consent of both parties to the contract  

۲ – The competence of both parties.  

۳ – There must be a definite thing which forms the subject-matter 

۱۸  

of the contract  

۴- The cause of the transaction must be lawful.  

Subsection 1  

Regarding the Intention and Mutual Consent of Both Parties  

to the Contract  

Article 191 – A contract only becomes complete through the real intention of the  contractor, and this real intention must be accompanied by some factor which proves that  there was such an intention  

Article 192 – If either party or both are unable to speak, a sign which indicates intention  and acceptance will be sufficient.  

Article 193 – A transaction may be created by an act which indicates intention and  consent, such as taking delivery or handing over unless in circumstances excepted by  law.  

Article 194- The words, signs or other acts by which both parties perform the transaction  must be coordinated so that each party accepts the transaction which the other intended to  perform Otherwise the transaction will be null and void.  

Article 195 – If anyone makes a contract when drunk, unconscious or asleep, the contract  is null owing to absence of intention.  

Article 196 – Anyone who makes a contract it is deemed that he is acting for himself  unless in making the contract the contrary is laid down or unless subsequent evidence to  the contrary is established. When making a contract, however, anyone can make  provision for the benefit of a third person.  

Article 197 – If the price or the subject of a sale in a contract is a thing which belongs to a  third party, the contract will be on behalf of the owner of that thing.  

Article 198 – Either or both parties may represent another .It is also possible that one  person would act as the representative of both parties to a contract.  

Article 199 – Consent obtained as a result of mistake or duress will not make a contract  enforceable  

Article 200 – Only mistakes connected with the subject of a transaction will invalidate it.  

Article 201 – A mistake made as to the identity of one party will not affect the interests of  the other party in the transaction, except when the identity of this second party forms the  principal reason of the transaction.  

Article 202- Duress is caused by acts which affect reasonable person through threats  against his person, property or honour in a way that he cannot be expected to withstand.  In connection with such threats .the age, personality, nature and sex of the person must be  taken into consideration.  

Article 203 – Duress will make a contract unenforceable even when it is caused by an  outside party other than the two parties concerned. 

۱۹  

Article 204-Threats made by one party against the body or property or honour of close  relatives (of the other party) such as husband, wife, father or children are regarded as  causing duress. In connection with this Article the closeness of the relationship must be  considered according to custom, in estimating the duress.  

Article 205 – When a threatened person knows that the threat cannot be carried out or  when he is able to defend himself without difficulty from the threat or from performing  the contract, the man who made the threat cannot be regarded as having used undue force  

Article 206-If anyone is constrained to make a transaction through distress, this is not  regarded as duress and such a transaction is considered valid.  

Article 207 – The imposition of a transaction on a person by an order of competent  judicial authorities is not considered as made under duress.  

Article 208 – If one party fears the other, though not threatened by him, this is not  regarded as being duress.  

Article 209 – A transaction ratified after the removal of any undue force is binding.  

Subsection 2  

Regarding the Competence of the Parties  

Article 210- Both parties should be competent to transact the business  

Article 211 – In order that a contract may be valid both parties to it must be of age, must  be in their proper senses and must have reached puberty.  

Article 212 – A transaction between people who are not of age, nor in their proper senses  nor mature is invalid because of their incompetence.  

Article 213 – A transaction made by incapacitated persons cannot he valid.  

Subsection 3  

Regarding the Object of a Transaction  

Article214 – The object of a contract must be some property or act which both the parties  agree to deliver or execute.  

Article 215 – The object of a contract must be capable of being owned and must embody  some reasonable and legitimate advantage.  

Article 216 – The object of a transaction should not be ambiguous except in special cases  where a general knowledge of the matter would be sufficient  

Subsection 4  

Regarding the Reason for a Transaction  

Article 217- In a contract it is not necessary to explain the reason for making it, but if this  is done the reason must be a legitimate; otherwise the contract will be null and void. 

۲۰  

Article 218 – If it is known that the contract has been made with the intention evading  formally some liability, the contract will be null and void.  

Article 218 – If the creditor files a petition with the court submitting evidence to the effect  that the debtor, to evade his liability, intends to dispose of his properties, the court may  enter an attachment writ in the amount of his debt, in which event he cannot sell his  properties without the authorization of the court.  

Section 3  

Regarding the Effect of Contracts  

Subsection 1  

Regarding General Rules  

Article 219 – Contracts made according to law are binding on the parties or their  substitutes, unless they have been cancelled by mutual agreement or for some legal  reason.  

Article 220 – A contract not only binds the parties to execute what it explicitly mentions,  but both parties are also bound by all consequences which follow from the contract in  accordance with customary law and practice, or by virtue of a law.  

Article 221 – If any party undertakes to perform or to abstain from any act, he is  responsible to pay compensation to the other party in the event of his not carrying out his  undertaking provided the compensation for such losses is specified in the contract or is  understood in the contract according to customary law or provided such compensation is  by law regarded as guaranteed.  

Article 222 – In case of failure to comply with the above-mentioned stipulations, a djudge  can, while observing the above Article authorize the party in whose favour the  undertaking was made to perform the act in question himself and condemn the defaulting  party to compensate the expenses incurred.  

Article 223- Any contract entered into is understood to be genuine unless its false nature  is proved.  

Article 224 – The wording of a contract shall be read according to the meaning  understood by customary law.  

Article 225 – If certain points that are customarily understood in a contract by customary  law or practice are not specified there in they are nevertheless to be considered as  mentioned in the contract.  

Subsection 2  

Losses Incurred Through Non-fulfillment of Contracts  

Article 226 – In the event of non-fulfillment of an undertaking by one party, the other  party cannot claim damages for loss sustained, unless a special period was fixed for 

۲۱  

fulfillment of the undertaking and that period was expired . If no period was fixed for the  fulfillment of the undertaking a party can only claim damages if the power for fixing the  period for such fulfillment was vested in him and if he proves that he asked for the  fulfillment of the obligation.  

Article 227 – The party who fails to carry out the undertaking will only be sentenced to  pay damages when be is unable to prove that his failure was due to some outside cause  for which be could not be held responsible.  

Article 228- If the object of an agreement consists of the payment of a sum in cash, the  judge can, subject to the terms Article 221, convict the debtor to pay compensation for  losses incurred through delay in the payment of his debt.  

Article 229 – If a man who has into an undertaking is prevented from fulfilling it by some  elements not within his control, he shall not be convicted to compensate for losses.  

Article 230 – If in a contract the amount of compensation to be in the event of its non –  fulfillment is laid down, the judge can condemn the offender to pay more or less than the  sum fixed.  

Subsection 3  

Regarding Effect of Contracts on Third Parties  

Article 231 – Undertakings or contracts are only binding on the two parties concerned or  their legal substitutes except in cases coming under Article 196.  

Section 4  

Regarding Conditions Fixed at the Time of Making Contracts  

Subsection 1  

Regarding Different Types of Conditions  

Article 232 – The following conditions are of no effect though they do not nullify the  contract itself:  

۱ – Conditions which are impossible to fulfill.  

۲ – Conditions which are useless and unprofitable.  

۳ – Conditions which are not legal.  

Article 233 – The following conditions are of no effect and will nullify the contract itself:  1 – Conditions which are contrary to the requirements of a contract.  

۲- Conditions which are unknown and of which lack of knowledge entails ignorance of  the consideration.  

Article 234 – Conditions are of three different kinds 

۲۲  

I – Conditions of description.  

۲ – Conditions of collateral events  

۳ – Conditions about the performance of a contract.  

Of these the first category refers to the quantity or quantity of the object. The second  provides for the fulfillment or the happening of some extraneous event; and the third  arises when a condition is made as to the performance or non performance by one of the  two parties or by a third party.  

Subsection 2  

Regarding Provisions Governing These Conditions  

Article 235 – If there is a condition of description which is not fulfilled, the party who  stands to benefit by the contract shall have the right to cancel it.  

Article 236 – As regards the result of a contract, if the realization of the result does not  depend upon a special circumstance, it follows from the fulfillment of the condition itself.  

Article 237 – If the condition, made as part of the contract, be a condition involving the  performance or the non-performance of an act, a person who has undertaken to carry out  such an act must do so; in the event of his failure to do so, the other party may apply to  the judge asking that he may be compelled to execute the condition  

Article 238 – If the performance of some act has been undertaken under the terms of a  contract, and if it proves impossible to force the party who should perform the act to  fulfill his obligation, though the could be performed by some other person, the judge can  at the expense of the person at fault arrange for the performance of the act.  

Article 239- If it is not possible to force the fulfillment of an act by the person who  should perform it and if the act is of such a kind that no one else cancel the contract.  

Article 240 – If when a contract has been made it is found that the carrying out of its  condition is impossible or if it becomes known that the carrying out was impossible when  the contract was made, the person in whose favour the contract was drawn up will have  the option of canceling the contract, unless the condition becomes impossible of  fulfillment owing to some act of the person in whose favour the contract was drawn up.  

Article 241 – In a contract it may be specified that one of the parties should give security  or pledge for the fulfillment of his obligation.  

Article 242 – If it is stipulated that one of the parties should pledge certain property and if  that property is destroyed or damaged, the other party will have the right to cancel the  contract but not the right to demand the delivery of the equivalent of the pledged property  or any compensation for damages. If such pledged property is destroyed or damaged  after delivery there will be no right of cancellation of the contract.  

Article 243 – If a contract provides for a guarantor and if this condition is not fulfilled, the  person in whose favour the condition was made will have the right to cancel the contract. 

۲۳  

Article 244 – A party in whose favour a condition is made may surrender his claim to the  fulfilment of that condition, and in that case the condition cases to be part of the contract;  conditions about the result of a contract cannot, however, be cancelled in this way.  

Article 245 – The waiver of the right engendered from a condition may be made either  orally or by some act, which indicates such waiver.  

Article 246 – When a contract is terminated by mutual consent, its condition becomes null  and void and if one party has fulfilled his obligation under the contract he can claim  compensation from the other party in whose favour he did this.  

Section 5  

Regarding Contracts Which Deal With the Property of a Third  

Party or Which Are Unauthorized  

Article 247 – Contracts regarding the property of others, except those entered into by  natural guardians, executors or legal representatives, are not binding even thought the  owner of the property agrees there to; if, however, after the contract has been made the  owner of the property signifies his consent, the contract becomes binding  

Article 248 – The consent of the owner of a property in an unauthorized contract can be  signified orally or by an act which signifies his consent to the contract.  

Article 249 – The silence of the owner of a property, even if he is present when the  transaction is made, cannot be taken as indicating his consent.  

Article 250 – Such consent is only effective and valid if it has not been previously  refused; otherwise it is not effective.  

Article 251 – The refusal of an unauthorized transaction is effective whether expressed  orally or by some act which indicates absence of consent.  

Article 252 – Consent or refusal need not be immediate; in case of delay causing loss to a  party who has acted in an authorized manner he shall have the right to break the contract  

Article 253 – In the case of an unauthorized contract, if the owner of the property dies  before signifying his consent or refusal, this consent or refusal can be given by the heirs.  

Article 254 – If the property referred to in an unauthorized contract subsequently passes  into the possession of the unauthorized person in some way, this mere ownership will not  make the original contract binding  

Article 255 – If anyone makes a contract which is acknowledged to be an unauthorized  contract and the property in question belongs to the man who made the contract or to a  person on whose behalf he was authorized to act as a guardian, or legal representative the  validity of the contract depends on the renewed consent of the person who made the  contract; if he does not give such consent the contract is invalid.  

Article 256 – In the event of anyone transferring property of himself or anyone else in one  contract, or accepting the transfer of property for himself or another, the contract is  binding on himself but is considered unauthorized for anyone else. 

۲۴  

Article 257 – If the object of an authorized transaction is made the object of other  transactions also, before the owner of the property signifies his consent or refusal to the  first unauthorized transaction, this owner can approve any of the transactions which he  likes and the transactions dependent there on shall be valid, while the previous ones shall  be null and void.  

Article 258 – In respect of any profit on a property which formed the object of an  unauthorized contract or in respect of any return on that property, consent or rejection  will be effective as from the date of the contract.  

Article 259 – When any property has been handed over to a third party by a seller who is  not authorized by the owner and when the owner of the property does not give his con  sent, the party who hold the property is responsible for the object and its usufruct.  

Article 260 – If an unauthorized seller receives a consideration for the object of sale and  keeps the said consideration in his possession, and the owner while approving the  transaction permits taking delivery of the consideration then the said owner shall have no  recourse against the other party.  

Article 261- In the case where property has been disposed of without authority and the  original owner withholds his consent, the purchaser will be responsible for the actual  property and any profits on it during the time he held it, even if he has not derived any  benefit from it, and also he will be held responsible for any damage to the property while  it was in his possession.  

Article 262 – Under the circumstances described in the above Article the purchaser of the  property shall have the right to claim from the man who sold it to him without authority  for the return of the actual consideration, or a property identical there to, or its equivalent  in value.  

Article 263 – If the original owner of any property refuses to sanction a transaction about  it and the purchaser is ignorant of the fact that the sale was unauthorized, he can claim  back from the unauthorized seller both the consideration and the losses incurred, but he  can only claim back the consideration if he knew that the transaction was made without  authority.  

Section 6  

Regarding the Termination of Obligations  

Article 264 – Obligations can be extinguished in the following ways:  1 – By fulfillment of the obligations.  

۲ – By cancellation of the bargain.  

۳ – By release from the obligation.  

۴- By substitution of a different obligation.  

۵ – By set off and recoupment.  

۶ – By acquisition of the debt. 

۲۵  

Subsection 1  

Concerning Fulfillment of the Obligation  

Article 265 – If anyone gives property to another, it is deemed that he has not done so  without consideration; therefore if a person gives property to another, while he is under  no obligation to do so, he can ask for the return of such property.  

Article 266 – If an undertaking is made in such manner that the obligee has no legal right  to demand its fulfillment, in the event of fulfilling it on the part of the obligor of his own  will then his claim for restitution will not be admissible.  

Article 267 – If someone who is not the actual debtor pays the debt in question although  he does so without the debtor’s permission, the debt shall be discharged; if, however,  payment is made by permission of the debtor, the payer can refer to the debtor, but  otherwise not.  

Article 268 – The performance of an act, when it has been stipulated that it should be  done by a party to the contract, cannot be effected by another person except by consent of  the obligee.  

Article 269 – For fulfillment of an obligation a payment by a party there to is only  effective if he delivers what he himself owns or what he is authorized by its owner to  deliver, and if he is personally competent to do so.  

Article 270 – If the obligor makes some payment in fulfillment of his obligation, he  cannot claim for the return of the same from the obligee on the grounds that when he  made the payment he did not owe the amount in question, unless he proves that the  amount belonged to another but was legally in his possession though without the right to  pay it to anyone.  

Article 271 – A dept shall only be paid to the creditor or his attorney or to someone  legally entitled to receive such payment.  

Article 272 – The payment of a debt to anyone other than those specified in the foregoing  Article can only be made by consent of the creditor.  

Article 273 – If a person entitled to receive payment of a debt refuses such payment, the  obligor can obtain discharge by making payment to a judge or his substitute and from the  date of payment his liability for damages in respect of the object of the undertaking shall  cease.  

Article 274 – If the obligee is not competent to receive any payment there under, such  payment will not be valid.  

Article 275 – The obligee cannot be obliged to accept any goods which do not constitute  the object of obligation even if they are of a like or greater value.  

Article 276 – A debtor in fulfillment of an undertaking cannot deliver any goods, of  which the disposal has been forbidden by a judge. 

۲۶  

Article 277 – The obligor cannot deliver only a proportion of the amount due to the  obligee, but a magistrate may grant a period of grace or arrange for payment by  installments if the debtor’s financial situation calls for such action.  

Article 278 – If a particular property constitutes the object of the obligation then the  delivery thereof to its owner in its actual state at the time of delivery shall discharge the  obligor from his responsibility, even if the property is deficient or defective, so long as  the deficiency or defect is not due to the excessive use or negligence of the obligor,  except in the cases stipulated in the law. If, however, a party bound by a contract delays  in delivering such property at due date and when its delivery has been claimed, he will be  responsible for any deficiency or defect even if this deficiency or defect even if this  deficiency or defect was caused by no fault of his.  

Article 279 – When the goods to be handed over under a contract are not particular goods  but are of a general nature, a party bound by the contract need not deliver goods of the  best quality, but he must not hand over goods which according to custom and usage are  considered defective.  

Article 280 – Any act under a contract must be performed at the place where the contract  is made, unless the parties to the contract have made a special arrangement or unless  usage or custom require some other procedure.  

Article 281 – Any expenses incurred in connection with the payment of a debt must be  borne by the debtor, unless a provision to the contrary is made.  

Article 282 – If under a contract one party owes several sums to one other party, the  debtor shall decide on what count any particular payment is made.  

Subsection 2  

Concerning Cancellation of a Bargain  

Article 283 – After a contract has been made, the parties may cancel and terminate it by  mutual agreement.  

Article 284 – Cancellation can be made by any oral declaration or by any act which  indicates such cancellation.  

Article 285 – The object of a cancellation may be the whole or a part of the object a  contract.  

Article 286 – The loss of either the object of sale or the consideration will not prevent the  cancellation of the bargain. In such an event, the counterpart of one of the objects which  has been destroyed if such object happens to have counterparts or the price thereof, if  such object happens to be appraisable, may be given in its place.  

Article 287 – Separable accretion and usufruct with accrues under a contract between the  time of its being made and its cancellation shall belong to the party who under the  contract has become the owner. But usufruct which is an integral part of the property  dealt with under a contract belong to the party who owns the property after the  cancellation of the contract. 

۲۷  

Article 288 -If the owner of some property by a contract improves the property after the  making of the contract so that it appreciates in value, this difference in value shall belong  to him when the contract is cancelled.  

Subsection 3  

Concerning Release From an Obligation  

Article 289 – Release from an obligation takes place when a creditor voluntarily waives  his claim.  

Article 290 – Release from a contract is only effective when the party to the contract has  the power to terminate it.  

Article 291 – The release of a dead man from a debt is valid.  

Subsection 4  

Concerning Alteration of the Obligation  

Article 292 – Alteration of an obligation can be effected in the following cases  

۱ – When both parties to a contract agree owing to whatever cause to the change of the  original obligation in some way and its replacement by a new obligation as substitute, the  obligor shall be released as far as the original is concerned.  

۲ – When a third party agrees with the consent of the creditor under the contract to pay  the debt by the contract debtor.  

۳ – When the creditor under a contract transfers his right to another party.  

Article 293 – When an obligation is altered, any securities laid down in the original  agreement will not be binding under the subsequent agreement, unless the two parties  have made express stipulation to that effect.  

Subsection 5  

Concerning Set-off and Recoupment  

Article 294 – When two parties are indebted to one another, a set-off may be effected  regarding their mutual debts in the ways explained in the following Articles.  

Article 295 – Set-off is an obligatory process which is effected without the necessity of  the two parties giving their consent. Thus when two parties are indebted to one another at  the same time, their debts are annulled by set-off to the extent of the amount owed by  both parties and the parties to that extent released their mutual debts.  

Article 296 – Set-off can only take place when the object of the debts are of the same  nature and when their place and date of payment coincide, no matter what may be the  reason for the debt.  

Article 297 – When after a guarantee has been, the beneficiary becomes indebted to the  guarantor. This fact will not release the guarantor from his undertaking. 

۲۸  

Article 298 – When only the place of payment differs in two debts, set-off will be  effective either on payment of the cost of transport entailed in transferring the thing from  one place to another or an agreement between the parties not to require delivery in the  specific place.  

Article 299 – Set-off will not be binding in respect of the indisputable rights of third  parties. Thus if an object owed to a certain creditor is seized legally in favour of a third  party, and the debtor becomes a creditor of his original creditor, the former cannot, under  a plea of set-off, refuse to deliver the seized goods.  

Subsection 6  

Concerning Passing of Ownership  

Article 300 – If a debtor becomes owner of what he owes, his liability ends. Thus, if  anyone is the debtor of his ancestor, the debt is settled after the death of the said ancestor  to the extent of the portion of inheritance to which the said debtor is entitled to.  

CHAPTER 2  

OBLIGATIONS INCURRED WITHOUT A CONTRACT  

Section 1  

General Definitions  

Article 301 – Any person who intentionally or inadvertently acquire goods to which he  has no claim, is bound to deliver such goods to the actual owner.  

Article 302 – If anyone owing to a mistaken belief that he is in debt pays that debt, be has  the right to reclaim the amount in question from the person who took it without right.  

Article 303 – Anyone who receives any property without any right is responsible for the  actual property and for any profits that may accrue thereto, whether or not he is aware of  his having no right to the property.  

Article 304 – If anyone, under the wrongful impression that he is entitled to possess some  goods, disposes of the same, this transaction is regarded as an unauthorized one and is  subject to the provisions laid down regarding such transactions.  

Article 305 – In the cases described above the owner of the property must pay any  expenses entailed through its maintenance, unless the man who took possession of the  property knew that he had no right to do so.  

Article 306 – If anyone manages the property of a party who is continuously absent an  incapacitated person or the like, without the permission of the owner or the person who  has the right to give permission, he must give an account of his period of management.  

If it would have been possible to have obtained permission at the time or if delay in  interfering in the matter would have caused no loss, then no claim for expenses of  management can be entertained. If how ever, a lack of intervention or a delay in such 

۲۹  

action would have entailed losses to the owner of the property, expenses of management  can be claimed by the person who performed the duties of manager.  

Section 2  

On Automatic Liability  

Article 307 – The following matters entail automatic  

۱ – Usurpation or the acts which are deemed as usurpation.  

۲ – Deliberate destruction.  

۳ – Indirect destruction.  

۴ – Taking advantage.  

Subsection 1  

On Usurpation  

Article308- Seizure of another right by violence is called usurpation. Laying hands on  another’s property without justification is also considered as usurpation.  

Article 309 – If anyone prevents the owner of a property from tan of it but yet does not  himself exert control over the property, he is not considered as usurper, but if he destroys  the property or causes such an act, he will be responsible.  

Article 310 – If anyone denies that property he has been deposited with him or lent to him  or similarly delivered to him, although such delivery has taken place, he is considered to  be guilty of usurpation as from the date on which he denies the fact.  

Article 311 – A person who has usurped anything should return the thing itself to the  owner, if it has been destroyed lie must give a similar property or its value. If for any  other reason the return of the actual property is not possible, he must provide a substitute  or equivalent.  

Article 312 – If an equivalent substitute for the misappropriated property cannot be found,  then its value at the time of delivery must be paid. If, however, an exact substitute can be  found but its possessory value has disappeared the last price must be paid.  

Article 313 – When anyone on his own land builds with another’s materials or plants  trees, without the owner’s permission, this second party can demand the demolition of the  building or the uprooting of the trees unless he agrees to receive the value thereof.  

Article 314 – If as a result of the acts of the person who usurped property its value  appreciates, the one who has been guilty of usurpation will have no right to claim the  difference in its value; in case, however, this difference forms a separable part, such  separable part shall belong to the usurper.  

Article 315 – A party guilty of usurpation is responsible for any deficiency or defect that  may have been caused during the period of his holding if, even if such deficiency or  defect has not been the result of his action. 

۳۰  

Article 316 – If anyone usurps any property from the man who has previously usurped it,  his responsibility shall be similar to that of the previous offender, even if he is not aware  of the original offence.  

Article 317 – The owner of any property can claim the actual property or ,if it has been  lost, similar property or the value of the whole or part of it from either the man originally  guilty of usurpation or from anyone who has subsequently usurped it.  

Article 318 – Whenever the owner of some property claims on a party guilty of  usurpation in whose hands the usurped property has been destroyed, the latter has not  right to claim on another party who may have usurped the property, but if the owner  claims on someone guilty of usurpation who, however, was not the person who destroyed  the property, the latter may claim on another party guilty of usurpation in whose charge  the property was when destroyed or (he may claim) on any persons who subsequently  usurped the property, until the claim eventually falls on the guilty party who held  property when it was destroyed; generally speaking responsibility rests with the party  who had the property usurped by him when it was destroyed.  

Article 319 – If the owner of some property regains the whole or part of some usurped  property, he has no right to claim in respect of the amount regained, from any other  person who has been guilty of usurpation.  

Article 320 – In respect of profits derived from usurped property, each party guilty of  usurpation is responsible to the amount of profit accruing the time that he has held  usurped property or the time that it has been held by persons subsequently guilty of  usurpation even if he derived no benefit there from when, however, a party guilty of  usurpation has had to pay profit that accrued while the property was held by others who  usurped it later, then he may claim on each of these other persons in proportion to the  period that they held the property.  

Article 321 – If the owner of a property releases a party who has been guilty of usurpation  from returning the equivalent or the value of the property, he shall have no right to claim  on others who have been similarly guilty. If, however, the owner assigns his right to one  

of those (guilty) persons, this latter person will become the representative of the owner  and will enjoy the same right that the owner had.  

Article 322 – Releasing one of those guilty of usurpation from paying profits accrued to  the property while it was in his charge will not entail the release of others from their  share of such profits, but if he (the owner) releases one of the persons guilty of usurpation  respect of actual profits, he will have no right to claim on persons who were later so  guilty.  

Article 323 – If anyone buys some property from a party who has usurped it, the former is  also responsible and the owner can, in accordance with the provisions laid down above,  refer to both the seller and the buyer and claim the original property or if it has been lost,  its equivalent or its value and also any profits accrued thereto.  

Article 324 – If a buyer knows that the property in question has been usurped, then in  respect of property taken back by the owner the rights of claim between the seller and  buyer are similar to those between two parties guilty of usurpation and will be subject to  the above provisions. 

۳۱  

Article 325 – If anyone buys in good faith some usurped property and if the owner claims  it from him, he (the buyer) can in his turn make a claim on the man who sold it to him for  its value and any damages, even if the property was destroyed while in his (the buyer’s)  charge, but if the owner claims on the seller for the equivalent or the price of the  property, the latter will have not right to claim on the buyer.  

Article 326 – When anyone has bought property knowing that it had been usurped and  then loses it and has to deliver equivalent property to the original owner, this buyer  cannot claim from the seller for the amount by which this equivalent may exceed the  original property in value, but only for the amount of the (actual) value.  

Article 327 – If usurped property has passed from hand to hand otherwise than by sale,  the regulations already given regarding the sale of usurped property will be applicable.  

Subsection 2  

Regarding Deliberate Destruction  

Article 328 – If anyone destroys the property of another person, he will be held  responsible and must either produce its equivalent or its value, whether or not the  property was destroyed intentionally and whether it was the actual property or profits  there on that were destroyed; if he causes defect or damage to such property, he is  responsible for the depreciation in price.  

Article 329 – If anyone pulls down the building or house of some other party he must  rebuild it as before and if this cannot be done, he must pay the price of the building.  

Article 330 – In case a man kills an animal belonging to someone else, without the  owner’s consent, he must pay the difference in price between a live and a dead animal; if  the dead animal is worthless, he must pay the full value of the (living) animal . If, how  ever, he kills the animal or damages it in self defense, he will not be held responsible.  

Subsection 3  

Regarding Indirect Destruction  

Article 331 Anyone who causes some property to be destroyed must give back its  equivalent or its value, and if he causes a defect or damage to it he will be held  responsible for any depreciation in value.  

Article 332 – If anyone arranges for the destruction of some property and someone else  does the deed, the actual perpetrator will be held responsible and not the party who  caused the deed, unless the latter is the stronger party in such a way that according to  custom and usage the destruction could be attributed to him  

Article 333 – The owner of a wall, house or factory is responsible for losses entailed by  its collapse provided that he was aware of the defect which caused it or if it was due to  his negligence. 

۳۲  

Article 334 – The owner or custodian of an animal is not responsible for losses caused by  it unless he has failed to exercise control; but if an animal is made to cause damage the  person who made it to do so will be held responsible for losses incurred.  

Article 335 – If a collision occurs between two ships, trains, motor other vehicles  responsibility will lie with the person whose intentional act or carelessness caused the  collision, and if two parties were so responsible for the collision the responsibity will  attach to both of them.  

Subsection 4  

Regarding Taking Advantage  

Article 336 – If a man does an act at the order of another and if according to custom and  usage a wage is payable for such an act, or if the man who has acted is accustomed and  disposed to under take such work, then he can claim pay for his work, unless it is shown  that he acted gratuitously.  

Article 337 – If anyone benefits from another’s property when permission has been  clearly expressed or understood, the owner of the property will be entitled to the  reasonable equivalent of any such profit, unless it be clear that permission was given  without (any question of) payment.  

CHAPTER 3  

SPECIAL TYPES OF CONTRACTS  

Section 1  

Regarding Sales  

Subsection 1  

Regulations Governing Sales  

Article 338 – A sale consists of the giving possession of specified goods in return for  known consideration.  

Article 339 – After mutual agreement between the seller and the buyer in respect of the  object of the bargain and its price, the sale is concluded by offer and acceptance. A sale  can also be effected by exchange.  

Article 340 – When offering and accepting a sale the wording and terms used must clearly  indicate an act of sale.  

Article 341 – A sale may be made with or without any conditions and also a term may be  set for the delivery of the whole or part of the object of a bargain or of the total or partial  payment of its price. 

۳۳  

Article 342 – The quantity, type and nature of the object of the sale must be known and  the fixing of the quantity by weight, measure, number, length, area or by inspection is  made in accordance with the local custom and usage.  

Article 343 – If the object is sold by quantity the sale is effected even before it has been  counted or measured in volume in or length  

Article 344 – If in the terms of a sale contract not conditions are laid down or no time  limit has been fixed for delivery of its object or for payment of the price, the bargain is  considered definite and the price should be paid at once , unless in accordance with  established rules and local usage or commercial rules and practice certain conditions or  time limit exist for commercial transactions even though they have not been stipulated in  the contract of sale.  

Subsection 2  

Regarding the Two Parties to a Contract  

Article 345 – Besides being legally competent the seller and the buyer must be entitled to  take possession of the property or its value.  

Article 346 – A contract of sale should be entered into by mutual consent; a forced  contract is not binding.  

Article 347 – A blind person can sell or buy so long as he becomes aware of the nature of  the object by some means other than seeing it or through the help of another person, even  if that person is the other contracting party.  

Subsection 3  

Regarding the Object Sold  

Article 348 – The sale of something of which the sale or purchase is by law forbidden, or  which is not (describable as) property or which can bring no reasonable profit or which is  not within the seller’s power to deliver is null and void unless the purchaser himself is  able to take possession of it.  

Article 349 – The sale of property that is religious endowment is not valid unless there is  a dispute among the beneficiaries in such a way that there is a fear of bloodshed or of the  destruction of the endowed property, and except in the cases provided for in the Chapter  relating to Endowed Property.  

Article 350 – Property can be sold in divided or undivided shares; or if the property  consists of goods that can be divided they can be sold in parts, or they can be sold  according to sample for delivery after a period.  

Article 351 -When goods are of a general nature, i.e. when they can be specified from  numerous units, their sale is only valid when their quantity, quality and description is  given.  

Article 352 – An unauthorized sale is not binding unless permission has been given by the  owner, as has already been stipulated in connection with unauthorized contracts. 

۳۴  

Article 353 – If a specified chattel belonging to a special category is sold and it is found  that the chattel delivered does not belong to such category the sale is void , and if a part  of the chattel sold is not up to quality then that part of the sale is void and the purchaser  also has the right to cancel the remainder of the deal.  

Article 354 – when a sale is arranged by means of samples, all the goods sold must be  similar to the sample; otherwise the purchaser has the right to cancel the contract.  

Article 355 – If an immovable property is sold as being of a certain area and its found that  it is less than the stipulated size, the purchase may cancel the deal. Also if it is found that  the area exceeds that laid down, the seller may call off the deal. In both cases, however,  the two parties may come to a mutual agreement in regard to the shortage or the excess.  

Article 356 – Anything which according to common usage and practice should form part  of the object sold or is considered as an attachment to it or which is indicated to be a part  of this object forms part of the sale and belongs to the purchaser, even if this has not been  clearly stated in the contract of sale and even if the two parties of the contract were not  aware of the common usage.  

Article 357 -Anything that according to common age does not form part of the object  sold will not be affected by the sale unless the contrary has been clearly stipulated in the  contract.  

Article 358 – Under the above two Articles if a garden or house is sold the trees of the  garden and the passage and water channel and whatever is attached to the building in  such manner that it cannot be detached without damage belong to the buyer. On the  contrary, crops on land, fruit on trees and young or pregnant animals do not belong to the  buyer unless this has been stipulated in the contract of sale or is considered as part of the  object sold according to common usage. In any case, however, the parties can come to  some other agreement  

Article 359 – If there is some doubt whether something is included in the sale according  to common usage, then the contract of sale will not cover that thing unless some  stipulation is made to that effect.  

Article 360 – Anything that can be sold independently can also be excluded from the sale.  

Article 361 – If after a contract has been made for the sale of some specified object and it  is found that this object does not exist, then the sale is null and void.  

Subsection 4  

Regarding Consequences of a Sale  

Article 362 – The consequences of a regularly conducted sale are as follows:  

۱- The buyer becomes the owner of the object sold and the seller of its price as soon as a  sale is effected.  

۲ – A contract of sale makes the seller responsible for claims in connection with the  ownership of the consideration.  

۳ – A contract of sale makes the seller responsible for delivery of the object sold. 

۳۵  

۴ – A contract of’ sale makes the buyer responsible for payment of the consideration.  

Part 1  

Regarding Ownership of the Object Sold and Its Value 

Article 363 – If in a contract of sale there is an option of cancellation or if a period of  grace is fixed for the delivery of the object sold or for the payment of its price, this will  not prevent transfer (of ownership). Thus if the object of the sale or the consideration  happen to be a specified article and before they are handed over one of the two parties  becomes bankrupt, then the other party will have a right to claim delivery of such  specified article.  

If the seller undertakes to introduce a guarantor in connection with any conceivable claim  in respect of the title of the object of sale and fails to fulfill his undertaking, then the  buyer shall have the right to terminate the contract.  

Article 364 – In the case of a conditional sale the ownership becomes binding from the  date of the contract and not from the date on which any option expires. In the case of a  sale in which delivery is a condition, such as a sale of coins against other coins, the  ownership passes from the date of delivery and not from that of the contract.  

Article 365 – An invalid sale does not in any way cause ownership to pass  

Article 366 – Anyone who, following an invalid sale, takes delivery of any object, must  return to it the owner; otherwise, he will remain responsible for the object itself and any  profits thereon in case they are lost or damaged.  

Part 2  

Regarding Delivery  

Article 367 – Delivery consists in the object sold being placed at the disposal of the buyer  so that he has absolute control of it and can benefit from it in any way he likes. Taking  delivery is effected when the buyer assumes control of the object of sale.  

Article 368 – The delivery takes place when the object sold is placed at the disposal of the  buyer even if the latter has not actually taken physical possession of it.  

Article 369 – Delivery is operative in various ways according to the varying nature of the  object sold. It must be done in a way that is accepted as valid according to common  usage.  

Article 370 – If parties of a contract fix a time for delivery the ability of the seller to  deliver the object need not exist till this object has to be delivered. The ability to deliver  need not exist at the time of concluding the contract.  

Article 371 – In sales where the delivery of the object of sale is dependent on the  permission of the owner, the ability of the delivery is counted on the date that such  permission is granted.  

Article 372 – If the seller can only deliver a part of the goods sold, then the sale is valid  for that part but not for the remainder. 

۳۶  

Article 373-When the goods are already in the buyer’s possession a fresh delivery is not  necessary; the same applies to the consideration of the sale  

Article 374 – For taking possession of the goods, no authorization is necessary. The buyer  can take possession of goods he has bought without any authorization  

Article 375 – Delivery should be made at the place where the contract was concluded,  unless another place is required by common usage or unless by a provision in the contract  of sale a special place has been fixed for the delivery.  

Article 376 – In case of delay in delivery of the goods sold or of their price, the party in  default will be forced to make delivery.  

Article 377 – Either the seller of the buyer can retain the goods sold or their consideration  until the other party is prepared to deliver his part, unless either the object of sale or the  consideration thereof is agreed to be delivered at a subsequent date in which case either  the object of sale or consideration which has become mature should be surrendered.  

Article 378 – The seller who has voluntarily delivered the object of sale before receiving  the price thereof, cannot reclaim the object of sale, except in the case of the cancellation  of the transaction assuming that he has the option to do so.  

Article 379 – if the buyer undertakes to give security or a pledge for the consideration and  fails to carry out this obligation, the seller will have the right to cancel the contract .If the  seller undertakes to introduce a guarantor in connection with any conceivable claim in  respect of the title of the object of sale and fails to fulfill it, then the buyer shall have the  right to terminate contract.  

Article 380 – In the case of the bankruptcy of the buyer, if he has retained in his  possession the actual object of the sale, the seller can reclaim it and he can keep the  object sold if it has not yet been handed over.  

Article 381 – Costs of delivery, such as transport to the place of delivery and also the  expenses of checking, weighing and so on are at the charge of the seller, but those  connected with the payment of the price are to be paid by the buyer.  

Article 382 – If in regard to the expenses of the transaction or the place of delivery,  common usage lays down some rules contrary to those detailed above or if in the contract  some stipulations to the contrary are made, the common usage or these stipulations shall  be followed. The seller and the buyer can also modify the above rules by mutual consent.  

Article 383 – The delivery should also contain all the elements which are the parts and  appurtenances of the object of sale.  

Article 384 – If under a contract the object sold is fixed in quantity and if on delivery less  than this quantity is handed over, the buyer will have the choice of canceling the contract  or of taking the quantity available on payment of the right proportion of the price. If the  object sold exceeds in quantity the amount fixed in the contract, the excess belongs to the  seller.  

Article 385 – If an object sold is one that cannot be divided without damage, such as a  house or a carpet, and if it is sold as being of a fixed size but on delivery it is smaller or 

۳۷  

larger in size, then the buyer in the former case and the seller in the latter can cancel the  contract  

Article 386 – If in the cases described in the above two Article the deal is cancelled, the  seller must refund, over and above the price any costs of the contract and reasonable  expenses incurred by the buyer.  

Article 387 – If the object sold perishes before delivery, even without fault or neglect of  the seller, the sale will be cancelled and the consideration restored unless the seller has  already applied to a magistrate or his substitute for the enforcement of the delivery, in  which case the loss will be borne by the buyer only.  

Article 388 – If before delivery the object of sale deteriorates the buyer can cancel the  sale.  

Article 389 – If under the circumstances described in the above two Articles the loss of  the object or its deterioration in value is due to an act of the buyer, he will have no claim  on the seller and must pay the consideration of the sale.  

Part 3  

On Assurance of the Titles  

Article 390 – If, after acceptance of the consideration it is established that the object of  sale wholly or partially belongs to another person, the seller shall be held responsible  even though such condition has not been stipulated in the contract.  

Article 391 – If it is established that the object of sale wholly or partially belongs to  another person, the seller must return the consideration of the object of sale; and if the  purchaser be ignorant of the existence of the defect, in title, the seller must also take  responsibility for the losses suffered by the purchaser.  

Article 392 – In the case mentioned in the preceding Article, the seller must be  responsible for the whole of the consideration he has received in relation to the whole or  part of the object sold, even though after the conclusion of the sale for any reason  whatever there should be a reduction in price.  

Article 393 – In respect of the excess which may have accrued to the object of sale owing  to the acts of the purchaser, the provisions of Article 313 shall apply.  

Part 4  

On Payment of Consideration  

Article 394 – The purchaser must pay the consideration at the agreed time, and at the  place and in accordance with the conditions which are laid down in the deed of sale.  

Article 395 – If the purchaser does not the consideration at the agreed time, the seller will  have the right to cancel the transaction in accordance with the arrangements concerning  the option of delaying the payment of the consideration; or, he will have the right to  demand that the judge shall compel the purchaser to pay the consideration. 

۳۸  

Subsection 5  

On Options and Orders Concerning Them  

Part 1  

On Options  

Article 396 – Options are of the following kinds:  

۱ – The Option of Meeting place.  

۲- The Option of Animals.  

۳ – The Option of Conditions.  

۴- The Option of Delayed Payment of the Consideration.  

۵- The Option of Inspection and Incorrect Description.  

۶ – The Option of Loss.  

۷-The Option of Defect.  

۸ – The Option of Trickery.  

۹ – The Option of Sales Unfulfilled in Part.  

۱۰- The Option of Unfulfilled Conditions.  

First Option  

On the option of Meeting place  

Article 397 – Each party to the transaction, subsequently to the conclusion of the sale,  while in the place of meeting and before the parties have separated, has the option of  rescinding the sale.  

Second Option  

On the Option of Animals  

Article 398 – If the object of sale is an animal, the purchaser has Article 398 – If the  object of sale is an animal, the purchaser has the option of rescinding the sale until three  days after the conclusion of the sale.  

Third Option  

On the Option of Conditions  

Article 399 – It is possible that the sale may be concluded subject to the condition that  either the seller, or the purchaser, or both of them, or some other person, should have the  right of canceling the transaction within a specified period.  

Article 400 – If the date commencement of the specified period be not mentioned, the  commencement will be reckoned as from the date of the transaction; otherwise the period  will be as laid down in the agreement of sale. 

۳۹  

Article 401 – If no period be specified for the Option of Condition both the condition of  option and the sale are null and void. Fourth Option  

On the Option of Delayed Payment of the Consideration  

Article 402 – If the object of sale is a concrete object, or is of that nature, and if no period  is specified by the two parties for the price or the surrender of the thing sold, the seller  has the option of rescinding the sale when three days have elapsed since the date of the  transaction and neither the seller has delivered the object of sale to the purchaser has paid  the whole consideration to the seller.  

Article 403 – If the seller should, in any way whatever, demand the payment of the  purchase money, and if it appears from the evidence that his intention was to oblige the  purchaser to complete the sale, his option will be extinguished.  

Article 404 – Should the seller, within three days from the date of the sale, deliver the  whole of the object of sale to the purchaser, or should the purchaser pay the whole of the  consideration, the seller will no longer have any right to rescind the contract, even though  it should happen, in any way whatever, that the object of sale return to the seller or the  consideration to the purchaser.  

Article 405 – If the purchaser offers the price and the seller refuses to accept it, he loses  his right to cancel the contract.  

Article 406 – The Option of Delay is purely for the seller; the purchaser does not enjoy  this right of option owing to a delay in the delivery of the object of sale  

Article 407 – The payment of part of the consideration, or the delivery of same to a  person who is not authorized to receive it, does not avoid the option of the seller.  

Article 408 – If the purchaser gives surety for the consideration, or if the seller draws a  bill for the consideration and the bill is honoured, the Option of Delay is void.  

Article 409 – If the object of sale is one of those things which spoils deteriorates before  the expiration of three days, the commencement of the option is from the time that the  object of sale is about to spoil or to deteriorate  

Fifth Option  

On the Option of Inspection and Incorrect Description  

Article 410 – If a person should buy a thing from its description only without having seen  it, and should then find on inspection that it does not possess the description which had  been made, he has the option of either canceling the sale or of accepting the object as it  is. Article 411 – If the seller has not seen the thing, whereas the purchaser has seen it, and  the thing sold possesses qualities which are other than those described, the seller only  shall have the right of cancellation.  

Article 412 – If the purchaser has seen a portion of the object of sale, but has only bought  the rest from description or by way of samples, and finds that that portion is not in  accordance with the description or with the samples, he can either reject all the thing  sold, or accept it all. 

۴۰  

Article 413 – If one of the parties to the sale has previously seen the goods and makes the  transaction on the basis of his previous inspection and if it appears, after inspection, that  the said goods do not possess the qualities which they previously had, he shall have the  option of rescinding the transaction.  

Article 414-In a sale of merchandise of a general description there is no Option of  Inspection, and the seller must deliver goods which are in accordance with the description  laid down by the two parties.  

Article 415 – The Option of Inspection and Incorrect Description is effected immediately  after inspection.  

Sixth Option  

On the Option of Lesion  

Article 416 – Either of the parties to a transaction if he has suffered (gross loss) may, after  being appraised of the lesion, cancel the transaction.  

Article 417 – A lesion is gross if in accordance with common usage it is not susceptible of  being overlooked.  

Article 418 – If the party who has sustained loss knows, at the time of the transaction, the  proper price of the object of sale, he will have no right of cancellation.  

Article 419 – In the determination of the extent of the loss, the conditions of sale must  also be taken into consideration.  

Article 420 – The Option of Loss is effective immediately after the detection of the loss  

Article 421 – If a person who has deceived the other party to the transaction delivers the  difference in price, the Option of Loss does not extinguish unless the deceived party  agrees to receive the difference in price  

Seventh Option  

On the Option of Defect  

Article 422 – If it appears, after the transaction, that the thing sold was defective, the  purchaser has the option either to accept the defective thing together with compensation  for its defect, or to cancel the transaction.  

Article 423 – The Option of Defect attaches to the purchaser when the defect was  inherent, but existed at the time of the transaction.  

Article 424 – An inherent defect is one which the purchaser, whether this ignorance arose  from the fact that the defect was really concealed, or whether the defect was evident but  the purchaser did not realize that fact.  

Article 425 – A defect which occurs in the thing sold after the sale but before delivery is  to be regarded in the same way as a previous defect  

Article 426 – The determination of a defect shall take place in accordance with common  usage and custom, and therefore may vary with time and place. 

۴۱  

Article 427 – If, in connection with the defect, the purchaser should exercise his option of  receiving compensation therefore, the difference in price which must be given to him will  be decided in the following way:  

The true of the thing sold, in undamaged state, will be determined by experts.  

If the price of the thing, undamaged, be equal to the price of the thing as fixed by the  parties to the transaction at the time of the sale, the difference between this price and the  price of the thing in its damaged state will be the amount of compensation.  

And if the price of the thing sold in the undamaged state is less or greater than the price  of the transaction, the proportion which the price of the thing in the damaged state bears  to the price undamaged will be calculated, and the seller will retain that proportion of the  price fixed on in the transaction, and will give back the rest to the purchaser by way of  compensation.  

Article 428 – Should the experts disagree, the average of their price will be the  authoritative price  

Article 429 – In the following circumstances the purchaser cannot cancel the sale; he may  only take compensation:  

۱ – If the thing sold is destroyed when the purchaser; or if the thing be transferred to  someone else.  

۲ – If the thing sold is subjected to change, whether the change is due to the action of the  purchaser or not.  

۳ – If after delivery of the thing sold, another defect should take place in it, unless it  should have taken place during the time that the purchaser has his special option ; in that  case no impediment exists to cancellation, and to the return of the object.  

Article 430 – If the defect which takes place after delivery arises as the result of a former  defect, the purchaser will also have the right to return the object of sale.  

Article 431 – Should there be several things sold as part of the same transaction, in such  way that the price of each several thing is not separately fixed, if certain of them are  found to be damaged, the purchaser must either return all of them and receive back the  price, or keep all of them and take compensation; no discrimination may take place  except with the consent of the seller.  

Article 432 – Should the seller in a transaction be a single person, while there are many  purchasers, if a defect appears in the thing sold, one of the purchasers may not singly  return his portion while someone else retains his, except with the consent of the seller;  and if they do not all agree in returning the object of sale, the only right which remains to  each of them is the right of reclaiming compensation.  

Article 433 – If in one transaction the sellers are more than one in number, the purchaser  may return the portion of one of them while he retains the portion of another and claims  compensation.  

Article 434 – If it appears that the defective thing has in actual fact no proprietory worth  and no price, the sale is void; and if a part of the thing sold has no value, the sale in 

۴۲  

respect of that part is void and the purchaser has, in respect of the remainder, a right of  cancellation in consideration of the Option of Sales Unfulfilled in part.  

Article 435-The option of defect, after it becomes known, should be exercised  immediately by the beneficiary.  

Article 436 – If the seller accepts no responsibility for the defect in such way that he can  establish the fact that he was not responsible therefore, or if he sells the object with all its  defects, the purchaser will have no right to recourse against the seller when a defect  appears; and if the seller makes reservations against one particular defect, he will be  relieved of liability only in respect of that particular defect  

Article 437 – In respect of rules relating to defects, the consideration for a thing if that  consideration be something not money, follows the rules as those applying to definite  goods sold.  

Eighth Option  

On the Option of Trickery  

Article 438 – Trickery denotes conduct which causes the other party to the transaction to  be misled.  

Article 439 – If the seller practices trickery, the purchaser will have the right to cancel the  sale, and similarly with the price paid by the purchaser, if the latter practices trickery.  

Article 440 – The Option of Trickery, after it becomes known, should be exercised  immediately.  

Ninth Option  

On the Option of Sales Unfulfilled in Part  

Article 441 – The Option of Sales Unfulfilled in part arises when the transaction, in  respect of a part of the thing sold, is void for any reason; in that case the purchaser will  have the right to cancel the transaction, or else to accept that part of the thing in respect  of which the transaction was valid, while returning the consideration of that part in  respect of which the transaction was void.  

Article 442 – When the Option of Sales Unfulfilled in Part comes into force, the portion  of the consideration which must be returned to the purchaser is calculated as follows  

That part of the object of sale which becomes the property of the purchaser will be valued  alone; the seller will keep that portion of the consideration which bears to the whole  consideration of the purchase the same ratio as the value of the portion mentioned above  bears to the value of the whole thing sold in its entirety; and the seller must return the rest  to the purchaser.  

Article 443 – The Option Sales Unfulfilled in Part arises when the purchaser, at the time  of the transaction, did not know that the sale was fulfilled in part; but in any case the  consideration will be divided. 

۴۳  

Tenth Option  

On the Option of Unfulfilled Conditions 

Article 444- The Option of Sales Unfulfilled Conditions arises in the circumstances  described in Articles 234 to 245.  

۲- On the Rules Concerning Options in General.  

Article 445 – All Options descend after death to the heir of the deceased  

Article 446 – It is possible that, an Option of Conditions may arise expressly as being  concerned solely with the person mentioned in the condition; in that case it will not  descend to the heir.  

Article 447 – If the condition of option arises for a person who is not one of the parties to  the contract, it will not be transferable by inheritance.  

Article 448 – It is possible for forfeit all the options as a condition inserted in the deed of  sale.  

Article 449 – Cancellation arises whenever any word is said or any deed done which  indicates cancellation.  

Article 450 – Any possessory acts which are by their nature an indication of satisfaction  with the transaction amount in practice to acceptance; for instance, if the purchaser who  has an option, and who knows that he has an option, sells the object or pawns it. Article  451 – Any possessory acts which are by their nature an indication that the contract is  

cancelled, amount in practice to a cancellation.  

Article 452 – If both of the parties to a contract have an option, and one of them accepts  while the other cancels, the transaction is cancelled.  

Article 453 – In regard to Options of Meeting-place, of Animals and of Conditions, if the  object of sale, after delivery but during the existence of the option of the seller or of the  two parties, is destroyed or becomes defective, the purchaser is responsible; and if the  option is confined to the purchaser, the destruction of the defect incurs the responsibility  of the seller.  

Article 454 – If the purchaser lets out the thing sold on hire, and the sale is then cancelled,  the hire is not valid unless it has been expressly or impliedly agreed that the purchaser is  to have no right of transference of the thing sold either in respect of itself or its profits; in  which case the hire is void.  

Article 455 – If after the conclusion of the contract, the purchaser converts to another’s  use either the whole or a part of the object of sale , as for instance if he mortgages it to  some person, the cancellation of the transaction will not affect the rights of the said  person unless a condition has been violated.  

Article 456 – Every species of Option can exist in all binding transactions, except the  Option of Meeting, of Animals, and of Delayed Payment, which are confined to sales.  

Article 457 – Every sale is irrevocable unless one of the options are established in regard  to it. 

۴۴  

Section 2  

On Conditional Sales  

Article 458 – In the contract of sale the transacting parties may make a condition that if  ever the seller, within a specified period, gives back to the purchaser the whole of the  equivalent of the consideration, he may exercise an option of cancellation of the  transaction in regard to the whole of the object of sale; similarly they may make a  condition that if ever he gives back a portion of the equivalent of the consideration, he  may have the object of canceling the transaction in regard to all of or part of the object of  sale; in any case, the right of option depends on the contract made by the two parties .  And if there is no special mention of whether the whole or whether a part of the  consideration has to be returned, the option will not be established unless the whole of the  price is returned.  

Article 459 – In a conditional sale, immediately on completion of the transaction the  object of sale becomes the property of the purchaser, subject to the option held by the  seller. Therefore if the seller does not abide by the conditions fixed between him and the  purchaser regarding the return of the object of sale, the sale will become unconditional ,  and the purchaser will become the unconditional proprietor of the object of sale; and if ,  on the contrary, the seller acts in accordance with the abovementioned conditions, and  asks for the return of the object of sale, it will become the property of the seller from the  moment of cancellation; but the accretions and profits accruing from the object of sale  from the time of the transaction until the time of the cancellation belong to the purchaser.  

Article 460 – In a conditional sale, the purchaser may not perform any proprietary act  regard to the object of sale which conflicts with the option, such as conveyance and the  like.  

Article 461 – If the purchaser, at the time of the option, refuse to accept the consideration,  the seller may hand over the consideration to the judge or his deputy and may cancel the  transaction.  

Article 462 – If the thing sold by way of conditional sale becomes transferred to the heirs  of the purchaser by reason of the latter’s death, the right of cancellation by the seller  remains unchanged, in regard to the heirs.  

Article 463 – If, in a conditional sale, it becomes apparent that the object of the seller was  in reality not a sale, the rules as to sales will not be applied to it.  

Section 3  

On Barter  

Article 464 – Barter is a transaction whereby one of the parties to the transaction gives a  thing in exchange for another thing received from the other party to the transaction,  without any stipulation that one of the things exchanged should be a thing sold and the  other a consideration therefor.  

Article 465 – In barter the special rules relating to sales do not apply. 

۴۵  

Section 4  

On Hire  

Article 466 – Hire is a contract whereby the hirer becomes the owner of the profits  resulting from the thing hired . The person who lets out on hire is called the Mujir  (lessor); the person who hires is called the Mustajir (lessee) and the thing which forms  the subject of the hire is called Aain-e-musta’jareh (the thing hired).  

Article 467 – Inanimate things, animals, or persons may all be the subject of hire.  

Subsection 1  

On the Hire of Inanimate Things  

Article 468 – In the hire of inanimate things the period of hire must be specified, or else  the hire is void.  

Article 469 – The period of hire begins from the day arranged between the two parties;  and if in the deed of hire there is no mention of any time for commencement, the period  will begin from the moment of the transaction.  

Article 470 – It is an essential condition of a contract of hire that the lessor is able to  deliver the thing hired.  

Article 471 – In order that the contract of hire may be valid, it must be possible that the  thing hired may be capable of engendering profits while remaining in its original state.  

Article 472 – The thing hired must be a specified thing, and the hire of a thing which is  imperfectly known or which is uncertain is void.  

Article 473 – It is not necessary that the lessor should be the proprietor of the thing hired,  but the proprietor, if he wishes to let the property, must be the proprietor of the profits  arising from the thing hired.  

Article 474 – The lessee may let the thing hired to another person, unless in the lease  there is a stipulation that he should not do so.  

Article 475 – The hire of thing held in undivided shares is allowed, but the delivery of the  thing hired depends on the permission of the partner.  

Article 476 – The lessor must deliver the thing hired to the hirer; if he refuses to do so the  lessor will be compelled; and if it proves impossible to compel him, the lessee will have  the option of cancellation.  

Article 477 – The lessor must deliver the thing hired in such condition that the lessee is  able to make use of the thing hired in the way desired.  

Article 478 – If it is established that the thing hired was, at the time of hiring, defective  the lessee may cancel the lease, or he may accept to hire it for the whole rent in the same  state that it was in; but if the lessor removes the defect in such way that no loss results to  the lessee, the latter will have no right of cancellation. 

۴۶  

Article 479 – In order that a defect shall entail the hirer to cancel the lease, it is necessary  that it should be a defect which causes a prejudice to the profits or makes them more  difficult.  

Article 480 – A defect which occurs after the contract of lease of lease and before any  profit has been realized from the thing hired give rise to an option; and if a defect occurs  during the course of the lease, the option is established for the remainder of the period of  hire.  

Article 481 – If the thing hired, in consequence of a defect, is no longer capable of  realizing profits, and the defect cannot be removed, the lease is void.  

Article 482 – If the thing which forms the subject of hire is one of a species of a general  nature, and one unit of the same which was delivered by the lessor is defective, the lessee  has no right of cancellation, but he can compel the lessor to change the defective unit;  and if it is impossible to change it, he will have the right of cancellation.  

Article 483 – If, during the course of the lease, the thing hired is destroyed, in part or as a  whole, the lease, from the time of the destruction, is cancelled in relation to the  proportion of the thing which has been destroyed; and if part of it has been destroyed, the  lessee has the right of cancellation of the lease in regard to the remainder of the thing  hired, or else to claim only a proportionate reduction in the rent.  

Article 484 – The lessor may not, during the period of the lease, introduce changes in the  thing hired, in such a way that changes prejudice the lessee’s purposes in hiring.  

Article 485 – If, during the course of the lease, repairs become necessary in the thing  hired, so that if they are delayed, loss will result to the lessor, the lessee may not prevent  the repairs, even though during the whole or part of the time occupied by the repairs he is  unable to make use of the whole or part of the thing hired; in that case he will have the  right to cancel the lease.  

Article 486 – The repairs, and the whole of the expenditure which is necessary in order to  maintain the thing hired in a state in which it is able to earn profits, are the responsibility  of the proprietor, unless other conditions have been agreed upon, or unless the customary  law of the place provides the contrary; similar rules hold for the instruments and  

appliances which are necessary for the m of the thing hired in a state in which it can earn  profits.  

Article 487 – if the lessee exceeds his powers or abuses the thing hired and the lessor is  unable to prevent that conduct, the lessor has the right of cancellation.  

Article 488 – if a third person, without claiming any right, should interfere with the lessee  in respect of the thing hired or the profits thereof, and if this takes place before the lessee  enters into possession, he has the right of canceling the lease; and if he does not cancel  the lease, he has recourse against the interfere in respect of the cessation of the  interference and of the payment of a reasonable equivalent for the part in which he  interfered; while if the interference takes place after the hirer has entered into possession,  he has no right of cancellation, and can only have recourse against the interferer. 

۴۷  

Article 489 – If the person who interferes claims any right relating to the thing hired or to  the profits thereof, the interferer may not seize the thing hired from the possession of the  hirer, unless he first proves his right in a suit to which both lessor and lessee are parties.  

Article 490 – The hirer must:  

۱ – Treat the thing hired in a normal way and not use it excessively or abuse it.  

۲ – Use the thing hired for the purpose which was agreed upon in the lease, or if no  purpose was specified, for the purpose of profit in the way indicated by the circumstances  and conditions of the lease.  

۳ – Pay the rent on the terms agreed upon, or if no terms were agreed upon, in cash.  

Article 491 – If the kind of exploitation which is mentioned in the lease does not envisage  exclusively the kind of exploitation intended the hirer can use the thing in such way that  it suffers a loss equal to or less than the loss which it would have suffered if it had been  used in the way indicated in the lease.  

Article 492 – If the hirer uses the thing hired in a manner other than that mentioned in the  lease, or than that which can be assumed from circumstances and conditions of the lease,  and it is not possible to prevent that, the lessor will have the right to cancel the lease  

Article 493 – The hirer is not a guarantor in respect of the thing hired, in this sense, that if  the thing hired, in the absence of excessive use or negligence on the part of the hirer,  should be destroyed, he will not be responsible, but if the hirer over-uses or abuses the  thing, he is a guarantor even if the prejudice suffered is not the result of his excessive use  or negligence.  

Article 494 – The contract of lease finishes immediately its period expires; and if the hirer  retains the thing hired after the expiry of the lease in his possession without the  permission of the proprietor, the latter will be entitled to a reasonable compensation for  the period of retention, even if the hirer has drawn no profit therefrom; and if he retains  possession with the permission of the proprietor, he must continue the payment of the  rent only if he draws profits therefrom, unless the proprietor has allowed him to retain the  thing gratis.  

Article 495- If a guarantee fhas been given in relation to the payment of the rent, the  guarantor will not be liable for the reasonable compensation mentioned in the foregoing  Article.  

Article 496- The contract of lease will, on the destruction of the thing hired, be void as  from the date on which the thing is destroyed; and in regard to any departure from the  conditions agreed upon between the lessor and the hirer, the option of cancellation will  become established from the date of such departure.  

Article 497- The contract of lease will not become void owing to the death of the lessor  or hirer; but if the lessor is the owner of the profits of the thing hired only for the duration  of his own life, the lease is void on the death of the lessor, and if one of the conditions of  the lease has been that the hirer shall himself take charge of the thing hired, the lease is  void on the death of hirer. 

۴۸  

Article 498- If the thing hired be transferred to another, the lease remains in force, unless  the lessor has made a condition that he shall have the right of cancellation if the thing is  transferred.  

Article 499- If a trustee of an endowed property, in pursuance of the objects of the  endowment, should let the thing endowed, the lease will not be void on the death of the  trustee.  

Article 500- In a conditional sale, the purchaser may let the thing sold for the period  during which the seller has no right of option. And if the lease is incompatible with the  option of the seller, he must safeguard the rights of the seller by means of making an  option or the equivalent thereof; otherwise the lease, in so far as it is incompatible with  the rights of the seller, will be void.  

Article 501 – If the lease the period is not specified clearly, and if the rent is specified as a  certain sum per day, per month or per year, a lease for one day, one month or one year  will be valid; and if the hirer retains the thing hired in his possession for periods longer  than those mentioned, and the lessor does not request him to evacuate, the lessor will be  entitled to the rent at the rate agreed upon according to the time which has elapsed, in  virtue of their mutual agreement.  

Article 502 – If the hirer carries out repairs in the thing hired without the permission of  the proprietor, he will not have the right to claim the price of those repairs.  

Article 503 – If the hirer, without the permission of the proprietor, erects buildings or  plants trees in the house or the land which he has hired, both the lessor and the hirer will  have the right, whenever he likes, to pull down the building or pull up the trees; in that  case, if the thing hired suffers any damage, the hirer is responsible.  

Article 504 – If, in accordance with the lease, the hirer is permitted to erect buildings or  plant trees, the proprietor cannot compel the hirer to pull down those buildings or pull up  those trees; and if after the expiry of the period a building or trees remain in the  possession of the hirer, the proprietor will have the right to claim reasonable rent for the  land; and if they are in the possession of the proprietor, the hirer will have the right to  claim reasonable rent from the proprietor.  

Article 505 – Installments of rent which, by reason of the fact that the time for their  payment has not arrived, have not become a liability of’ the hirer, shall not become  immediately payable by reason of his death.  

Article 506 – In leases of arable land, any kind of pests which attack cultivated plants are  the responsibility of the hirer, unless other arrangements have been agreed upon in the  lease.  

Subsection 2  

On the Hire of Animals  

Article 507 – In the hiring of animals, the specifications of profit depends on either the  specification of the period of hire, or the description of the distance and the place to  which the rider or the goods have to be transported. 

۴۹  

Article 508 – in cases where the profit becomes known through the description of the  period of hire, the specification of the rider or the load is not necessary; but the hirer  cannot transport more than the customary quantity; and if the profits should be specified  in the description of the distance and the place, the specification of the rider or the load is  necessary.  

Article 509 – In the hire of animals it is possible to make a condition that if the proprietor  does not transport the load to its destination in a specified time, a specified sum shall be  deducted from the hire. Article 510 – In the hire of animals it is not necessary that the  thing hired should be a particular animal; the specification of the species of animal will  be sufficient.  

Article 511 – An animal which is the subject of hire must be used for the definite purpose  which the two parties intended; therefore an animal which was hired for riding cannot be  used for the transport of loads.  

Subsection 3  

On the Hire of Persons  

Article 512 – In the hire of persons, the person who hires is called musta’jir (hirer) and  the person who becomes the subject of the hire is called ajir (hireling); and the price of  hire is called ujrat (wages)  

Article 513 – The principal divisions of contracts of hire of persons are the following:  1 -The hiring of servants and workers of all kinds.  

۲ – Contracts for the employment of persons who contract for the carriage of goods,  whether by land or sea or air.  

Part 1  

On the Hiring of Servants and Workers  

Article 514- A servant or a worker may not become a wage – earner (ajir) except for a  specified period or for the execution of a certain matter.  

Article 515 – If a person becomes a wage – earner without the specification of the  termination of the period, the period of hire will be limited to the period in accordance  with which the hire is specified; therefore, if the hire of the wage-earner is laid down as a  certain sum per day, per week, per month, or per year, the period of hire will be limited to  one day or one week, or one month or one year, and after the expiry of the said period the  hire will cease to have effect; but if the wage-earner after the expiry of the period of his  hire, continues to work and the proprietor keeps him, the wage-earner, in view of the  mutual engagement, is entitled to the same rate as that which was laid down during the  time of the hire between him and the proprietor.  

Part 2  

On Contracts of Carriage 

۵۰  

Article 516 – Contracts for carriage whether by land or sea or air, involve the same  engagements in regard to the protection and the care of the things entrusted to the carrier  as those laid down for contracts of bailment; therefore if excessive usage or abuse takes  place, (that person) shall be responsible for the destruction or the damage to the thing  who received the thing for transporting; and this responsibility shall attach to him from  the date of delivery of the things  

Article 517 – The dispositions of Article 509 shall also be applicable to carriage of goods.  

Section 5  

On Contracts of Agricultural and Harvesting Partnership  

Subsection 1  

On Agricultural Partnership (Muzara’eh)  

Article 518 -A muzara’eh is a contract in virtue of which one of the two parties gives to  the other a piece of land for a specified time so that he shall cultivate it and divide the  proceeds.  

Article 519 – un a contract of muzara’eh the share of each one of the cultivators and  agents must be specified by way of undivided shares, as for instance a quarter, or a third,  etc; and if the share is specified in any other way the rules to a muzara’eh shall not apply.  

Article 520 – In a muzara’eh it is lawful to make a condition that one of the two parties  should give to the other party some other thing in addition to the share from the produce.  

Article 521 – In a contract of muzara’eh it is possible that each one of the agents of  production and the seeds should belong to the cultivator or to the agent; in that case the  undivided shares of each of the two parties shall be determined in accordance with an  agreement or with local custom.  

Article 522 – In a contract of muzara’eh it is not necessary that the possessor of the land  should be the proprietor; but it is necessary that he should be the proprietor of the profits  of the land, or that in some other manner, such as by way of guardianship etc; he has the  right of possession of the land.  

Article 523 – The land which is the subject of muzara’eh must be capable of being  cultivated in the way desired, although it may need working or water; and if the  cultivation of the lands demands operations which at the time of the contract the agent  was ignorant of, such as the construction of a water – channel, or of a well, etc; he will  have the right of cancellation of the transaction.  

Article 524 – The kind of cultivation must be specified in the contract of muzara’eh,  unless it is known from local custom, or unless the contract was for cultivation in a  general sense; in the latter case ,the agent will be entitled to choose the kind of cultivation  which he prefers  

Article 525 – The contract of muzara’eh is an irrevocable contract. Article 526 – Either  the agents or the possessor may, in case of the Option of Loss, cancel the contract. 

۵۱  

Article 527 – if, owing to the loss or water or other causes of this nature , the land  becomes unworthy of cultivation and it is impossible to remove the cause of this defect,  the contract of muzara’eh is cancelled.  

Article 528 – if a third person, before the land which is the subject of a muzara’eh is  delivered to the agent, seizes the land, the agent has an option of cancellation; but if he  seizes the land after delivery he has no right of cancellation.  

Article 529 – A contract of muzara’eb will not be void owing to the death of the parties or  of one of them, unless a condition has been made that the agent should supervise the  work himself; in that case the contractis cancelled when he dies.  

Article 530 – If a person has a life interest in the profits of a property and has given that  property development under a muzara, eh the contract of muzara’eh will be cancelled by  his death.  

Article 531 – After the appearance of the harvest resulting from the cultivation, the agent  becomes the owner of his share from that harvest  

Article 532 – It, in the contract of muzara’eh, it is laid down that the whole of the harvest  shall belong to the cultivator alone or to the agent alone, the contract, is void.  

Article 533 – if a contract of muzara’eh for some reason becomes void, the whole the  harvest becomes the property of the owner of the seed, and the other party, who was the  owner of the land or of the water or of the labour, is entitled to a reasonable  compensation in proportion to that which he owned.  

If the seed was shared between the cultivator and the agent, the harvest and the  compensation will also be divided among them in the same proportions as the seed was  owned.  

Article 534-f the agent, during the course of the work, or at the beginning, abandons it,  and if there is no one to carry out the work in his place, the judge, at the demand of the  possessor, compels the agent to fulfill the work, or else continues the work at the expense  of the agent; and if this is impossible the possessor has the right of cancellation.  

Article 535 – If the agent does not cultivate, and the period comes to an end, the possessor  is entitled to a reasonable compensation.  

Article 536 – If the agent does no use proper care in cultivation, and and the harvest  becomes less owing to this fact, or any other loss results for the possessor, the agent will  become the guarantor for the difference  

Article 537 – If, in the contract of muzara’ eh it is laid down that a particular thing has to  be cultivated, and the agent cultivates something also, the muzara’eh is void and the  provisions of Article 533 shall be applied.  

Article 538 -If the muzara’eh is cancelled during the period previous to the appearance of  the harvest, the harvest, belongs to the owner of the seed, and the other party will be  entitled to a reasonable compensation.  

Article 539 – If the muzara’eh is cancelled after the harvest, both the possessor and the  agent share the harvest in proportion to the arrangement between them; but, from the date  of the cancellation, up to the gathering of the harvest, each of them will be entitled to a 

۵۲  

reasonable compensation for the land, the work, and the implement belonging to him,  payable from the proportional share of the other party.  

Article 540 – If the period of the muzara’ eh comes to an end and it happens that the  harvest is not ripe, the possessor has the right to destroy the harvest, or to let it be, after  receiving a reasonable compensation  

Article 541 – The agent may take a wage – earner for the cultivation, or take a partner; but  the consent of the possessor is necessary for transferring the responsibility of the  transaction or the surrender of the land to another person.  

Article 542 – The land tax is the responsibility of the proprietor, unless the contrary is  stipulated in the agreement; the rest of the expenses of the land depend upon the  agreement of the two parties, or on custom.  

Subsection 2  

On Contracts for Irrigation  

Article 543 – By a contract for irrigational purposes (musaqat) is meant a transaction  which takes place between an owner of trees and similar things and an agent, in return for  a specified undivided share of the produce; the work produce includes fruits, leaves,  flowers, etc.  

Article 544 – In a case where the contract of musaqat is void or is cancelled, the whole of  the produce is the property of the owner, and the agent will have the right to a reasonable  compensation.  

Article 545 – The provisions relating to muzara’eh mentioned in the preceding Subsection  will also apply to contracts of musaqat, except that the agent cannot, without the  permission of the owner, hand over the transaction to someone else or enter into  partnership with someone else.  

Section 6  

On Profit – Sharing Partnership  

Article 546 – A profit – sharing contract (mudarabeh) is a contract in virtue of which one  of the contracting parties gives over some capital with the stipulation that the other party  employs it in commerce, and shares the profits arising there from. The owner of the  capital is called the proprietor (malik) and his agent is the manager (mudarib).  

Article 547 – The capital must be a sum in cash.  

Article 548 – The share of each of the parties, proprietor and manager, in the profits must  be an aliquot part of the whole, such as a quarter or a third, etc.  

Article 549 – The shares mentioned in the preceding Article must be specified in the  contract of bailment, unless in accordance with custom they are separately known, and  the fact that they are not mentioned in the contract arises from that reason.  

Article 550 – The contract of profit – sharing is a revocable contract. 

۵۳  

Article 551 – A contract of mudarabah may be cancelled owing to any of the following  reasons:  

۱ – In case of the death, lunacy, or mental incapacity of one of the parties  2- In case the proprietor becomes destitute.  

۳ – In case the whole of the capital and its profits disappear.  

۴ – In case the trade which the parties envisaged becomes impossible.  

Article 552 – If in a contract of mudarabah a definite period be laid down for trading, he  specifying of the period does not make the contract binding, but after the expiry of the  period the manager may not make any transaction except with the renewed consent of the  proprietor.  

Article 553 – If the contract of bailment is a general one, i.e. no special form of trade is  laid down, the manager can perform any transaction which may seem to him appropriate  but common practice must be observed in respect of the kind of trade.  

Article 554 – The manager may not make a contract of mudarabah with the same capital,  or transfer it to another, without the permission of the proprietor.  

Article 555 – The manager must perform acts which, in respect of that kind of trade, are  in conformity with common practice and the custom of the place and the time; but if he  himself performs acts which must, according to common practice, be performed by wage  – earners, he will not be entitled to a wage for them.  

Article 556 – The manager is in the position of the trustee, he will not be liable for the  sum given to him in terms of mudarabah, except in cases of positive or negative  negligence.  

Article 557 – If a person gives a possession for the purpose of trade, and makes a  condition that the whole of the profits belong to the owner, the transaction shall not be  accounted as a mudarabah, and the manager shall be entitled to a reasonable  compensation, unless it is established that the manager has executed the work  gratuitously.  

Article 558 – If a condition has been made that the manger is liable for the capital, or that  the losses resulting from the trade are not be borne by the owner, the transaction is void,  unless a binding condition has been made that the manager shall hand over gratuitously to  the owner from his own property the amount of loss or destruction suffered.  

Article 559 – In current accounts or deposit accounts is it possible that the rules of  mudarabah should apply, regard being paid to the condition mentioned in the last part of  the preceding Article; and interest on the mudarabah may be entered in these accounts.  

Article 560 – Except as provided before above, managers are subject to the conditions and  arrangements laid down by the two parties in their contract. 

۵۴  

Section 7  

On Reward (Ji’ala)  

Article 561 – A ji’ala or contract of reward is defined as the engagement of a person to  pay a known recompense, in return for an act, whether the other party is specified or not.  

Article 562 – In a contract of ji’ala the person who engages himself is called the ja’il  (rewarder), the other party who does the act is called the amil (agent) and the reward paid  is called the ja’l (reward).  

Article 563 – In a contract of ji’ala the specification of the reward in all particulars is not  necessary; therefore, if a person engages himself to give to whoever finds an article of his  which he has lost a specified undivided share in it, the contract of ji’ala is in proper form.  

Article 564 – In aji’ala, in addition to the fact that it is not necessary to specify the agent,  it is also possible that the act shall also be unspecified and the circumstances of the act  not known.  

Article 565 – A contract of ji’ala is a permissive engagement, and until the act has not  been finished, each of the two parties can withdraw; but if the rewarder withdraws during  the course of the act, he must pay to the agent a reasonable compensation for his act.  

Article 566 – If, in a contract of ji’ala , the act has several parts, each one of which was  intended from the outset by the rewarder, and the ji’ala is cancelled, the agent will be  entitled to the price agreed upon in proportion to the act which he has done, whether the  cancellation shall come from the side of the rewarder or from that of the agent himself.  

Article 567 – The agent will become entitled to the reward when he act which is not in  consonance with reason, is void.  

Article 568- If a number of agents get involved in the performance of the job, each will  be entitled to receive his reward in proportion to his contribution.  

Article 569- The subject matter of Ji’ala, shall remain in trust with the agent from the  time it falls into possession of the agent until the time when it is passed to the rewarder.  

Article 570- Ji’ala shall be null and void for any illegitimate and unlawful act.  

Section 8  

On Partnerships  

Subsection 1  

On the Rules Appertaining to Partnerships 

Article 571 – A partnership is defined as the combination of the rights of several  proprietors in one single thing by way of undivided shares.  

Article 572 – A partnership is either voluntary or compulsory.  

Article 573 – A voluntary partnership arises either form any from of contract or from the  acts of the partners, such as when they combine together voluntarily, or when they accept 

۵۵  

a property in undivided shares as the result of the acts of certain persons, and in similar  ways.  

Article 574 -A compulsory partnership is the combination of the rights of proprietors  arising out of their association with one another, or from inheritance.  

Article 575 – Each one of the partners, in proportion to his share, shares in the profits and  losses, except where one or more persons, in consideration of their services, are allotted  greater shares.  

Article 576 – The method of administration of the joint property will depend upon the  conditions laid down between the partners.  

 Article 577 – A partner who in the contract of partnership is permitted to administer the  property of the partnership is entitled to perform any act which is necessary for the  administration, and will in no case be responsible for losses suffered as the result of his  actions, except in case of negligence or excessive use.  

Article 578 – The partners may always withdraw their permission unless their permission  has been given under an irrevocable contract in that case, as long as the partnership lasts  they have no right of withdrawal  

Article 579 – If the administration of partnership is the duty of several partners, in such  away that each one of them is independently permitted to act, each one of them may  singly perform the acts which are necessary for the administration of the partnership.  

Article 580 – If it has been agreed among the partners that one of the directors may not  act without another, the director who acts alone and has no written authorization from the  other partners, will be a guarantor in relation to the partners, even if it is at that moment  impossible for other partners to intervene in the administration.  

Article 581 – The operations of each of the partners who act outside their authority or  without authority are considered as unauthorized acts and come under the provisions  relating to unauthorized transactions  

Article 582 – A partner who without authority or outside the limits of his authority  operates in connection with property of the partner ship is a guarantor.  

Article 583 – Each one of the partners may, without the consent of the other partners,  transfer to a third person the whole or a part of his share  

Article 584 – A partner who has possession of property belonging to the partnership is in  the position of a trustee and will not be a guarantor in respect of the destruction or  damage of that property, except in cases of negligence or excessive use.  

Article 585 – A partner who acts without authority is responsible to the person with  whom he has traded, and claimants have the right to refer to him only.  

Article 586 – If no period is specified for the partnership in the text of a contract of  obligation, any one of the partners may withdraw whenever he wishes.  

Article 587 – The partnership will be dissolved in one of the following ways:  1 – On a share-out.  

۲ – If the whole of the property of the partnership is destroyed. 

۵۶  

Article 588 – In the following cases the partner are not authorized to operate with the  jointly – owned property:  

۱ – On the expiry of the period of authority, or on withdrawal, if that is possible.  

۲ – On the death of one of the partners, or when one of the partners becomes  incapacitated.  

Subsection 2  

On the Division of the Property of the Partnership  

Article 589 – Each one of the partners can, whenever he wishes, demand the division of  the jointly – owned property, unless a division, in accordance with this law, is forbidden,  or the partners have bound themselves, in an irrevocable manner, not to divide the  property  

Article 590 – If the partners are more than two in number, it is possible that a division  may be made in respect of the shares of one or more of the partners, and the shares of the  rest may be left undivided  

Article 591 – If the partners consent to a division of the property, the division will take  place according to the agreement of the partners, and if the partners cannot come to an  agreement the judge will compel them to divide the property, provided that the division  will not result in any loss; if it does result in loss compulsion is not permissible and the  division must take place according to mutual agreement.  

Article 592 – If the division is to the disadvantage of some of the partners, and not to the  disadvantage of others, if the demand for a division comes from a partner who suffers a  disadvantage, the other party will be compelled to agree; if the contrary, i.e. if the  demand comes from one who has not suffered loss, the other party is not compelled to  accept a division.  

Article 593 – A loss is considered to be an impediment to division when it represents an  evident depreciation, to such a degree that, in accordance with common practice, it is not  negligible.  

Article 594 – If a jointly owned qanat, or a similar thing, becomes defective and needs to  be cleaned or repaired, and one or more of the partners, to the loss of one or more other  partners, refuses to take part in the cleaning or repairs, the partner or partners who suffer  loss may refer to the judge; in that case, if the property is not divisible, the judge may, in  order to extirpate the source of dispute and to prevent loss, compel the partner who  refuses, according to the situation, to participate in the cleaning or the repairs, or to hire  or sell his share.  

Article 595 – If a division will involve the disappearance, as a property, of the whole a  part of’ the joint property or of the shares of one or more of the partners, division is  forbidden, even if the partners agree thereto.  

Article 596 – If the jointly – owned consists of several units, a compulsory division of  some of those units does not necessarily involve the division of the rest of the property. 

۵۷  

Article 597 -The separation of a private property from an endowed property is  permissible, but the division of an endowed property among the beneficiaries is not  permissible.  

Article 598 – The arrangements for a division are as follows:  

If the joint property is such that it must be divided itself, it will be divided up in  proportion to shares of the partners; and if it be such that it can be valued, it will be  apportioned according to its price; and after the division or the valuation, if the parties  cannot come to an agreement as to their shares, the matter will be decided by lot.  

Article 599 – The division, after it has taken place in proper form, is obligatory, and none  of the partners can dissociate himself from it without the consent of the others.  

Article 600 – If, in the portion of one or more of the partners, a defect may appear of  which he or they did not know at the division the partner or partners concerned have the  right to set aside the division.  

Article 601 – If, after the division, it becomes apparent that the division has taken place  under a mistake, the division is void.  

Article 602 – If, after the division, it becomes apparent that a definite quantity of the  property divided belonged to someone else, the division is valid if, after the division, the  property belonging to another exists in each of the divided shares in the same proportion;  otherwise it is void.  

Article 603 – A path or a watercourse belonging to any portion belongs, after the division,  to that same portion.  

Article 604 – A person who has rights over the property of another cannot prevent a  division of that property; but his rights will remain the same after the division as they  were before.  

Article 605 – If the portion of one of the partners is a water channel or a path over the  portion of another partner, the right of passage of water or the use of the path shall not  disappear after the division, unless such a disappearance shall have been upon; and other  rights over the property of another follow the same rule.  

Article 606 – If the estate of a deceased person be divided up before the payment of his  debts, or if after the division it becomes apparent that the deceased was liable for a debt,  the creditor must refer to each of the heirs in proportion of his portion; and if one or more  of the heirs are unable to pay, the creditor may refer to the other heirs for the settlement  of the portions of the destitute heir or heirs.  

Section 9  

On Deposit  

Subsection 1  

On General Principles 

۵۸  

Article 607 – By Deposit is meant a contract whereby one person entrusts a thing  belonging to him to another in order that the latter should retain it for him free of charge,  The person who deposits is called the mudi (depositor) and the person who receives the  deposit is called the mustaudi or the amin (trustee).  

Article 608 – In a Deposit the acceptance of the trustee is necessary, thought it maybe  shown by an act.  

Article 609 – A person may deposit a thing who is the owner or the representative of the  owner; or who is, on behalf of the owner, explicitly or implicitly authorized by the owner.  

Article 610 – In a Deposit the two parties must have capacity for a transaction, and if a  person accepts a thing on deposit from another person who has no capacity for a  transaction, he must return the thing to the legal guardian of that person, and if the thing  depreciates or disappears in his possession he is a guarantor.  

Article 611- A Deposit is a revocable contract.  

Subsection 2  

On the Engagements of the Trustee  

Article 612 – The trustee must preserve the deposited thing in the way that the depositor  laid down; and if there was no specific stipulation for the manner in which the thing is to  be preserved, he must keep it in the way which is usual for that thing; otherwise he is a  guarantor.  

Article 613 – If the owner has laid down a way for the preservation of the thing deposited,  and the trustee considers it necessary that way should be changed in order to preserve the  thing, he may change it, unless the owner has specifically forbidden any change; in that  case he is a guarantor.  

Article 614- A trustee is not a guarantor in respect of the destruction or the depreciation  of the thing deposited with him, unless in case of negligence or excessive use.  

Article 615- A trustee in his position as a protector is not responsible in respect of events  the prevention of which is beyond his power.  

Article 616 – If the return of the thing deposited be requested, and the trustee refuses to  return it, the rules as to trustees will case to apply to him from the date of his refusal, and  he will become a guarantor in respect of any defect or depreciation which supervenes in  the thing deposited, even though that defect or depreciation does not arise from an act of  his.  

Article 617 – The trustee cannot exercise any possessory rights over the thing deposited  except such as rise in protecting it; nor can he in any way make a profit from, except with  the express or implied leave of the depositor; otherwise he is a guarantor.  

Article 618 – If the thing deposited in entrusted to the trustee in a closed box or a sealed  letter, he has no right to open it; otherwise he is a guarantor.  

Article 619 – The trustee must hand back exactly the same thing as he received. 

۵۹  

Article 620 – The trustee must give back the thing deposited in the same state as the thing  was at the time of giving it back; and he is not a guarantor in respect of the defects which  may have accrued therein.  

Article 621 – If the thing deposited is taken by force from the trustee and if he has  received a payment or something else in its place, he must give to the depositor that  which he received in exchange, but the depositor is not obliged to accept it and he has the  right to refer direct to the person who took the thing away by force.  

Article 622 – If the heir of the trustee destroys the thing deposited he is responsible for  supplying the equivalent or the price or the same, even if he did not know that the thing  was. a deposit.  

Article 623 – The profits resulting from a thing deposited belong to the owner.  

Article 624 – The trustee must return the thing deposited only to the person from whom  he received it, or to his legal representative, or to a person who has authority to receive it;  and if he wishes, from force of circumstances, to give it back but has no means of  approach to a person entitled to receive it, he must give it back to a judge.  

Article 625 – If it is established that the thing deposited belongs to another person other  than the depositor, the trustee must return it to the true owner, and if the owner is  unknown, the rules relating to things of unknown ownership will apply.  

Article 626 – If a person deposits a thing, the deposit will become void at the death of the  depositor, and the trustee cannot return it to anyone except to the heirs.  

Article 627 – If there be more than one heir, and if they do not agree among themselves  about the thing, the thing deposited must be returned to the judge.  

Article 628 – If a change takes place in the situation of the depositor such as for instance  if he becomes a ward, the contract of deposit is cancelled, and the thing deposited cannot  be returned except to the person who has the right to administer the effects of the ward.  

Article 629 – If a thing belonging to a person who has become incapacitated is deposited,  that thing must be given back to him when he is no longer an incapacitated person.  

Article 630 -If a person makes a deposit of a thing in his capacity as guardian or tutor,  that thing after he ceases to possess that capacity, must be returned to its owner, unless  the owner continues to be incapacitated; in that case the thing is returned to the  subsequent guardian or tutor.  

Article 631 – If a person is in possession of a thing in a capacity position , in respect of  that thing, equivalent to that of a trustee, he is the same as a trustee; therefore, a tenant, in  relation to the thing hired, or a guardian or tutor in relation to the minor’s property or to  their ward, and the like , are not guarantors, unless in cases of negligence or excessive  use; and if the owner is entitled to have the thing returned to him, the possessor, from the  moment of the owner’s application and the possessor’s refusal to return although he  could have done so, will be responsible in case of destruction of the thing or of any kind  of damage or defect, even though it be not the consequence of his own act.  

Article 632 – Caravansarai properties, hotel keepers, bath keepers and similar persons are  responsible in respect of the effects and good and clothes of persons who enter those 

۶۰  

places only if those effects and goods and clothes are deposited with them, or if in a  accordance with local custom those effects are in the position of being on deposit.  

Subsection 3  

On the Engagement of the Depositor  

Article 633 – The depositor must give to the trustee the expenses which he has incurred in  the preservation of the thing deposited.  

Article 634 – If the return of the thing deposited necessitates any expenditure , the  depositor must pay.  

Section 10  

On Lending  

Article 635 – Lending is a contract whereby one of the parties gives the other party  permission to derive profit, gratis, from a thing belonging to the former.  

The person who gives is called the lender (mu’ir) and the person who receives is called  the borrower (musta’ir)  

Article 636 – The lender, in addition to having capacity, must be the owner of the profits  of the thing which he gives on loan, even though he be not the owner of the thing itself.  

Article 637 – Any thing which is capable of yielding a profit while continuing its own  existence unchanged is capable of being loaned.  

The profit which is envisaged in lending is a profit which is lawful and reasonable.  

Article 638 – Lending is a revocable contract, and is cancelled by the death of either of  the parties.  

Article 639 – If the thing lent possesses defects which cause loss to the borrower, the  lender will not be responsible for the losses incurred unless he is regarded as the cause of  the defect by local custom.  

The same rule also applies in the case of a depositor or a lessor etc.  

Article 640 – the borrower is not a guarantor as to the destruction or the depreciation of  the thing lent, unless in case for negligence or excessive use.  

Article 641 – The borrower is not responsible for a defect arising from using the thing  lent, unless he has used the thing in a way not permitted or if lending was unconditional,  if he has used it in a way not in accordance with common usage.  

Article 642 – If a condition of guarantee has been imposed on the borrower, he will be  responsible for any loss or defect, even though that loss or defect be not related to any act  of his.  

Article 643 – If the borrower has also had to furnish guarantee for defect resulting from  usage in general, be will be a guarantor for these defects too. 

۶۱  

Article 644 – In lending gold or silver, whether coined or not, the borrower is a guarantor  even if he has not been subjected to a guarantee, and even if there has been no negligence  of excessive use.  

Article 645 – In the return of the thing lent the provisions of Articles 624 and 626 up to  630 must be observed.  

Article 646 – The expenditure necessary for deriving a profit from the thing lent is the  responsibility of the borrower, and the expenses of upkeep of the thing follow the rules of  common usage and custom, except as provided in special agreements.  

Article 647- The borrower cannot in any circumstances hand over the thing loaned to the  possession of another, except with the permission of the lender.  

Section 11  

On Loans  

Article 648 -A Loan is a contract where by one of the two parties surrenders to the  ownership of the other party a definite portion of his property, so that the other party may  return to him what is equivalent thereto in respect of quantity, kind and description, and if  that party declines to give back the equivalent, he gives the price of the same on the day  of payment.  

Article 649 – If a property which is the subject of a loan, is destroyed or becomes  defective after having been delivered the loss is to be made good from the property of the  borrower.  

Article 650 – The borrower must return a thing similar to the thing He has received, even  though it may have appreciated or depreciated.  

Article 651 – If a specified period of time is fixed for the payment of the debt in a binding  form, the lender cannot claim the settlement of his loan before the expiry of the term.  

Article 652 – At the time of the lender’s claim for payment, the judge orders a delay or  for payment by installments on behalf of the debtor, according to the circumstances  

Article 653- Repealed by the Amendments of November 1991  

Section 12  

On Gambling and Betting  

Article 654 – Gambling and betting are void transactions and no action based on them  will lie. The same rule applies to all engagements which arise out of illegal transactions.  

Article 655 – Betting is permitted in races of riding animals and also in shooting matches  and in fencing the provisions of the foregoing Article do not apply to them. 

۶۲  

Section 13  

On Agency  

SUBSECTION 1 

On General Principles  

Article 656 – An agency is a contract whereby one of the parties appoints the other as his  representative for the accomplishment of some matter.  

Article 657 – The establishment of agency relationship is subject to the acceptance of the  agent.  

Article 658 – An agency comes into being however after and acceptance are indicated  whether by word or conduct.  

Article 659 – An agency may be either gratuitous of in return of remuneration.  

Article 660 – An agency can be of a general nature, and for the whole of the affairs of the  principal, or limited to a certain matters.  

Article 661 – If the agency is a general one, it will be concerned only with the  administration of the property of the principal.  

Article 662 – An agency must not be given except for a matter which the principal  himself is entitled to act, an agent must be a person who has the capacity to execute that  matter.  

Article 663 – An agent cannot execute a matter which exceeds the limits of his power of  attorney.  

Article 664 – An attorney for litigation purposes is not an agent empowered to receive  what is due, unless there exist certain circumstantial evidence there for, similarly, an  agent appointed to collect something to which his principal is entitled will not be an  attorney for litigation purposes.  

Article 665 – An attorney in a sale I is not an agent for the receipt of the purchase price,  unless there is indisputable proof thereof.  

Subsection 2  

On the Duties of the Agents  

Article 666 – If the principal suffers loss owing to the fault of the agent, and if the agent is  by common custom considered to be the cause of the loss, he will be responsible.  

Article 667 – The agent must, in his handlings and performances act in the interests of his  principal, and must not exceed the limits of the authority which the principal has  explicitly given him, or the authority which is inferred by custom, usage, and  circumstantial evidence.  

Article 668 – The agent must give to his principal an account of the time of his agency,  and must give up to him that which he has received for his principal. 

۶۳  

Article 669 – If two or more agents are appointed for the execution of one matter, no one  of these agents may participate in that matter without the other or others; unless each of  them has an independent agency; in that case each one of them can singly do the work.  

Article 670 – If two persons are agents in association with one another, and one of them  dies, the agency of the other becomes void.  

Article 671 – An agency for a certain matter involves an agency for the preliminaries and  essential preparations for that matter, unless it be expressly stated that the agency does  not apply to them.  

Article 672 – An agent in a matter may not give an agency to any one else in that matter,  unless he is expressly or impliedly an agent entitled to select a sub – agent.  

Article 673 – If an agent who has not the right of subscription hands over to a third person  the execution of the matter for which he has the agency, both the agent and the third  person will be responsible to the principal for the losses which they are considered to  have caused.  

Subsection 3  

On the Duties of the Principal  

Article 674 – The principal must execute all the engagements which the agent, within the  limits of his powers, has undertaken.  

In respect of that which has been done outside the limits of the powers of the agent, the  principal will be under no obligation whatever, unless he expressly or impliedly permits  the irregular actions of his agent.  

Article 675 – The principal must pay the whole of the expenditure incurred by the agent  in the execution of his agency, and also the remuneration of the agent, unless other  arrangements have been made in the contract of agency.  

Article 676 – The fee of the agent will be in accordance with the agreement between the  two parties; and if there has been no agreement relating to the fee or its size, it will be in  accordance with local practice and custom; if there is no recognized custom; the agent is  entitled to a reasonable remuneration.  

Article 677 – If it is not expressly stated in the contract of agency whether the agency is  gratuitous or for fee, the presumption is that it was for a fee.  

Subsection 4  

On the Various Ways of Ending an Agency  

Article 678 – The agency can be dissolved in the following ways:  

۱ – By dismissal by the principal.  

۲- By resignation of the agent.  

۳ By the death or insanity of the principal of the agent. 

۶۴  

Article 679 – The principal can, whenever he desires, dismiss the agent, unless a  condition has been made in the course of an irrevocable contract as to the agency of the  attorney or the impossibility of his dismissal  

Article 680 – Everything which the agent has done before the news of his dismissal  reaches him, in the limits of his powers, is valid.  

Article 681 – After the agent has resigned, he may continue to take steps in pursuance of  the agency as long as it is evident that the principal continues to give him permission.  

Article 682 – The fact that the principal becomes incapacitated annuls the agency except  in respect of things in which incapacity does not impede there being an agency; similarly,  the incapacity of the agent annuls the agency, except where incapacity does not impede  the steps necessary for the agency.  

Article 683 – If the substance of the agency disappears, or the principal performs himself  that he assigned to the agent to do, or ma general way does that which is contrary to the  agency, as for example if he sells himself that for which he gave an agency for agent to  sell, the agency is void.  

Section 14  

On Contracts of Guarantee  

Subsection 1  

On General Considerations  

Article 684 – A contract of guarantee is defined as such that a person takes upon himself  the responsibility of a property which forms an obligation upon another person.  

The person who accepts the obligation is called the zamin  

(guarantor); the other person is termed “mazmunun Ia” (the beneficiary), and the third  person is termed “mazrnunun anh” (he for whom the guarantee is given) or the, original  debtor.  

Article 685 – In a contract of guarantee the consent of the original debtor is not an  essential condition.  

Article 686 – The guarantor must have capacity to transact.  

Article 687 – It is permissible to be a guarantor of an incapacitated or deceased person.  Article 688 – It is possible for the guarantor to furnish a guarantee.  

Article 689 – If more than one person become guarantors for a man, the guarantee of the  person whom the beneficiary accepts is the valid guarantee.  

Article 690 – In a contract of guarantee it is not essential that the guarantor should be  solvent; but if the person to whom the guarantee is given is ignorant, at the time of the  guarantee, of the lack of means of the guarantor, he can cancel the contract; but if the  guarantor, after the contract becomes destitute, the beneficiary shall have no option. 

۶۵  

Article 691 – A guarantee in respect of a debt the cause of which has not yet arisen is  void.  

Article 692 – In a matured debt it is possible for the guarantor to specify a period for the  payment; and similarly for an immature debt he can engage to pay it immediately.  

Article 693 – The beneficiary can in a contract of guarantee require a pledge from the  guarantor, even though no security was taken in the original debt.  

Article 694 – It is not essential for the guarantor to know the amount, the details, and the  conditions of the debt which he guarantees; hence, if a person becomes the guarantor of a  debt of a person without knowing what the amount of it was, the contract of guarantee is  valid; but a guarantee of one of several debts, in a doubtful manner, is void.  

Article 695 – It is not necessary for the guarantor to have complete knowledge about the  person to whom the guarantee is given or the original debtor.  

Article 696 – It is possible to guarantee any debt, even if there is a termination clause  therein.  

Article 697 – It is possible to guarantee either the seller or the purchaser against the  possible claims by a third party in connection with the ownership of the object of sale or  the consideration as the case may be.  

SUBSECTION 2  

On tile Effect of a Guarantee on the Guarantor and the Beneficiary  

Article 698 – After the guarantee is validly made, the obligations of the original debtor is  discharged and the obligation of the guarantor towards the original creditor comes into  force.  

Article 699 – To make a guarantee dependent upon certain factors, as for instance to  indicate that, if the debtor does not pay then I shall stand as guarantor’ is void but it is  possible to make execution of guarantee dependent upon certain factors.  

Article 700 – A guarantee which lays down conditions concerning the pre-requisite of  guarantee, as for instance if the guarantor undertakes that if the person guaranteed is in  debt the guarantor will guarantee him, is not void.  

Article 701 – A guarantee is an irrevocable contract, and the guarantor or the beneficiary  cannot cancel it, unless in case the guarantor becomes indigent as laid down in Article  690; or there be a right of cancellation in respect of the debt which is guaranteed; or if the  conditions of the contract are not adhered to.  

Article 702 – If the guarantee specifies a period, the person guaranteed cannot claim his  due from the guarantor before the expiry of the period, even if the debt has matured.  

Article 703 – In a guarantee of immediate payment the beneficiary has the right to claim  his due, even though the original debt has not been matured.  

Article 704 – A general guarantee is a sight guarantee, unless it becomes evident, from  proofs, that it relates to a period. 

۶۶  

Article 705 – A delayed guarantee becomes a sight guarantee on the death of the  guarantor.  

Article 706 – Repealed.  

Article 707 – If the claimant releases the guaranteed person from his obligation the  guarantor will not be released, unless the object of the claimant is to abolish the debt  altogether.  

Article 708 – A person who is a guarantor to defend the claims of a third party concerning  the ownership of the object of sale is released on the cancellation of the contract of sale  on the ground of mutual consent or by exercise of an option.  

Subsection 3  

On the Effects of a Guarantee as Between the Guarantor and the Guaranteed  Debtor  

Article 709 – The guarantor has no right of recourse against the guaranteed debtor except  after the payment of the debt; but he can have recourse if the guaranteed debtor has  engaged to obtain a release for him (the guarantor) within specified time, and that time  has elapsed.  

Article 710 – If the guarantor, with the consent of the beneficiary assigns the payment of  the debt to another, and if that person agrees to pay it, it is as though he (the guarantor)  has paid the debt, and he has a right of recourse against the guaranteed debtor; the same  rule shall be applicable when the beneficiary makes such assignment.  

Article 711 – If the guarantor pays the debt, and the guaranteed debtor pays it again, the  guarantor will not have recourse against the beneficiary, but must refer to the guaranteed  debtor, and the latter can take back from the beneficiary what he paid him.  

Article 712 – If the beneficiary dies, and the guarantor becomes his heir, he has a right of  recourse against the debtor.  

Article 713 – If the guarantor gives to the beneficiary less than the debt, he cannot claim  from the debtor more than he has given, even if he has compromised for less than the  amount of the debt.  

Article 714 – If the guarantor gives to the beneficiary more than the debt, he has no right  to claim more, unless he has given it with the permission of the debtor.  

Article 715 – If the debt is payable at the end of a term, and the guarantor pays it before  the due date, he cannot claim from the debtor as long as the period of the debt is still  unexpired.  

Article 716 – If the debt is payable at sight, whenever the guarantor pays it, he can refer to  the debtor, even though the guarantee was for a period which had not then elapsed, unless  the debtor has given permission for a deferred guarantee.  

Article 717- If the debtor pays the guarantor is released, even though the guarantor may  not have given the debtor permission to pay. 

۶۷  

Article 718 – If the beneficiary releases the guarantor from the debt, the guarantor and the  debtor are both realized.  

Article 719 – If the beneficiary releases the guarantor, or if another pays the debt  gratuitously, the guarantor has no right of recourse against the debtor.  

Article 720- A guarantor who guarantees with the object of doing a spontaneous  benevolent act has no right of recourse against the debtor.  

Subsection 4  

On the Effect of a Guarantee on More than One Guarantor  

Article 721 – If several persons give a guarantee to a person in respect of a debt by way of  pro rata, the guaranteed creditor has the right of recourse against each one of them to the  extent of his share only; and if one of the guarantors pays the whole of the debt he can  refer to each one of the other guarantors who agreed to the payment, to the extent of his  share.  

Article 722 – A guarantor of a guarantor has no right of recourse against the original  debtor, but must refer to the person whom he has guaranteed; and in the same manner  every guarantor has recourse against the creditor, and so on up to the original debtor.  

Article 723 – It is possible that a person renders himself responsible for the payment of  the debt of another by virtue of an irrevocable contract; in that case the fact that the  obligation is conditional does not render it void, as for instance when a person incurs an  obligation to pay the debt of a debtor on condition that the debtor fails to pay.  

Section 15  

On Assignment  

Article 724- Assignment is a contract in virtue of which the claim of a person from a  debtor is transferred to a third party.  

The debtor is called, “muhil” (assignor), the creditor muhtal (assignee) and the third party  is called “muhalun ‘alaih” (third party assignee).  

Article 725 – The assignment does not become definite except with the consent of the  assignee and third party assignee.  

Article 726 – If, in regard to an assignment (haveleh), the debtor (assignor) is not  indebted to the creditor (assignee), the provisions applicable to an assignment will not  apply.  

Article 727 – It is not necessary, for the validity of the assignment, that the third party  assignee should be indebted to the assignor, In that case, the third party assignee after his  accepting, is in the position of a guarantor.  

Article 728 – The solvency of the third party assignee is not a necessary condition for the  propriety of the assignment. 

۶۸  

Article 729 – If, at the time of the assignment, the third party assignee was insolvent and  the assignee was ignorant of his insolvency, the assignee can cancel the assignment and  have recourse against the assignor.  

Article 730 – After the assignment is effected, the obligation which was incumbent upon  the assignor in respect of the assigned debt is discharged, and the obligation attaches to  the third party assignee.  

Article 731 – If the third party assignee was not indebted to the assignor, he may, after  paying the sum transferred, have recourse against the assignor for the sum paid.  

Article 732 – An assignment is a binding contract, and neither the debtor, nor the creditor,  nor the third person can cancel it, except in accordance with Article 729, or when the  condition has been made that an option of cancellation should exist.  

Article 733 – If, in a sale, the seller makes an assignment providing that the purchaser  should pay the price to some person, or if the purchaser makes an assignment  empowering the seller to receive the price from someone, and the nullity of the sale is  established, the assignment is null; and if the creditor has received the price he must give  it back ;but if the sale becomes cancelled in consequence of can option or mutual consent,  the assignment is not null, but the third person is discharged, and the seller or the  purchaser can have recourse against one another.  

The provisions of this Article will apply to other contracts also.  

SECTION 16  

On Personal Surety (Kifalat) (Bail-bond)  

Article 734- A “kifalat” is a contract by virtue of which one of two parties engages, with  the party, to produce the presence of a third person, when summoned.  

The person who engages is called “kafil”; the third person is called a “makful” (the object  of personal guarantee), and the other party is called “makfulun lah” (beneficiary).  

Article 735 – A “kifalat” takes place with the consent of the “kafil” and of the “makfulun  lah” (beneficiary).  

Article 736 – It is not necessary, for the validity of the “kifalat”, for the “kafil’ to know  that there exists a lawful claim incumbent upon the “makful’; the existence of a claim to a  right on the side of the “makfulun lah” is sufficient, even if the “makful’ denies it.  

Article 737 – A “kifalat” may be absolute or temporary; if it is temporary, its period must  be specified.  

Article 738 – It is possible for another person to become the “kafil” of a “kafil’  

Article 739 – In an absolute “kifalat”, the “makfulun lah” may, whenever he desires,  request that the “makful’ be produced; but in a temporary “kifalat” he has no right of  claim before the end of the term.  

Article 740 – The, “kafil” must produce the “makful” at the time and the place which he  has promised ; or else he must incur the responsibility for the right which is proved to be  incumbent on the 

۶۹  

“makful’.  

Article 741 – If the “kafil” has engaged to surrender property if the “makfui” does not  appear, he must act in accordance with his engagement.  

Article 742 – if in the “kifalat” no place has been specified for the surrender of the  “makful”, the “kafii” must hand over the “makful” in the place where the contract was  made, unless the contract envisages another place.  

Article 743 – If the “makful” is absent, a delay will be accorded to the “kafil” sufficient to  enable him to produce the “makful”.  

Article 744 – If the “kafil” hands over the “makful” at a time or in a place other than that  which was laid down, or contrary to the conditions which he made, it is not incumbent  upon the “rnakfulun lah” to accept this; but if he agrees, the “kafil’ is discharged;  similarly, if the “makfulun lah” requests the surrender of the “makful” in a way contrary  to that which was laid down by the two parties, the “kafil” is not obliged to accept.  

Article 745 – Any person who abducts a person from the control of the one entitled to  control him, or his lawful deputy, without his consent, is in the position of a “kafil”, and  must produce that person; if not, he must take responsibility for the due which are proved  to attach to him.  

Article 746 – The “kafil” will be discharged in the following circumstances:  1 – If he produces the “makful” in the manner agreed upon.  

۲ – if the “makful” himself appears at the appointed time.  

۳ – If the obligation of the “makful” is discharged in any way from that which the  “rnakfulun lah” claimed.  

۴- If the “makefulun lah” gives a discharge to the “kafil”.  

۵ – If the claim of the “makfulun lah” becomes in any way transferred to another person.  6 – If the “makful” dies.  

Article 747 – If the “kafil” produces the “makful” in accordance with the conditions  agreed upon, and the “makfulun lah” refuses to take delivery of him, the “kafil” will be  discharged after reference to witnesses or to the judge.  

Article 748 – The death of the “makfulun Iah” will not involve the discharge of the  “kafil”.  

Article 749 – If one person becomes a “kafil” for a person in relation to several persons,  he will not be discharged as far as the others are concerned by the delivery of the person  to one of them.  

Article 750 – If a person be the “kafil” of a “kafil”, and another person be his “kafil”, and  so on, each “kafil” must produce the “makful” pertaining to him; whoever of them  produces the original “makful” is discharged together with all the others; and whoever of  them becomes discharged by reason of any of the reasons mentioned in Article 746, the  “kafils” who come after him are discharged too. 

۷۰  

Article 751 – If the “kifalat” is with the permission of the “makful”, and the “kafil”, not  being able to produce the “makful” pays whatever penalty attaches to him, or if he pays a  penalty with his permission he can have recourse against the “rnakful” and receive back  what he has paid; but if neither was with the consent of the “makful”, he will have no  right of recourse.  

SECTION 17  

On Settlement (Compromise)  

Article 752 – A settlement of account is possible either in the case of the adjustment of an  existing dispute, or for avoidance of a possible dispute, or in the case of a transaction and  the like.  

Article 753 – In order that the settlement is in proper form, the two parties must have  capacity for the transaction and must have an interest in the subject of the settlement.  

Article 754 – Every settlement is effective, except that which relates to an unlawful  matter  

Article 755 – A settlement is also possible even when the claim is denied; therefore, a  request for a settlement is not to be regarded as a confession of indebtedness.  

Article 756 – Civil claims which have arisen as the result of a crime may also become the  subject of a settlement.  

Article 757 – A settlement without a recompense (consideration) is also lawful.  

Article 758 – A settlement made in respect of a transaction, though it provides the final  result of the transaction which it replaces, does not include the special conditions and  attributes of the transaction . Therefore, if the subject of settlement is a definite object  given in return for a consideration, its results will be the result of a sale, without the  execution of the special conditions and rules appertaining to a sale.  

Article 759 – A settlement does not involve a right of pre – emption, even though it takes  the place of a sale.  

Article 760 – A settlement is an irrevocable contract, even though it take the place of  revocable contracts; and it does not lose validity except in circum stances of cancellation  through the exercise of an option or mutual consent.  

Article 761 – A settlement which arises from a dispute or is based on clemency is final as  far as .the two parties are concerned, and neither of them can cancel it, even if there be a  claim of gross loss except in a case of non – compliance with a condition, or when an  option of cancellation has been included as a condition.  

Article 762 – If a mistake has occurred in the circumstances during the negotiation of the  terms of settlement, or in connexion with the object of settlement, the settlement is void  

Article 763 – A settlement of account under circumstances of reluctance is not  enforceable  

Article 764 – Trickery in a settlement is a justification for an option of cancellation. 

۷۱  

Article 765 – A settlement based on a void transaction is void; but a settlement in a claim  arising out of the cancellation of a transaction is valid  

Article 766 – If the two parties bring to an end, in a general settlement the whole of their  mutual claims whether existing or potential, in the form of a settlement, all the claims are  accounted as being included in that settlement, even if the cause of claim was unknown  when the settlement was made, unless the settlement did not include that claim, in  accordance with evidence.  

Article 767 – If, after the settlement, it becomes known that the subject of the settlement  did not exist, the settlement is void.  

Article 768 – In a contract of settlement it is possible that one of the parties, in return for  the share which he receives, should engage himself to pay an alimony for a specified  period each year or each month. This engagement may involve alimony for the other  party to the settlement or to a third party or parties.  

Article 769 – In an engagement such as that specified in the previous Article, whoever  derives profit from the settlement, there may be a condition that after the death of the  beneficiary the profits may go to his heirs.  

Article 770 – A settlement which takes place in accordance with the previous Article Is  not cancelled by the bankruptcy or the indigence of the person who undertook the  engagement, unless there was a condition to that effect.  

SECTION 18  

On Pledges (Mortgage)  

Article 771 – A pledge is a contract whereby a debtor gives a property to the creditor as a  security.  

The person who gives the pledge is called, rahin’(mortgagor), and the other party the  ,murtahin’ (mortagagee).  

Article 772 – The property which is pledged must be transferred to the possession of the  creditor, or to that of a person agreed upon by the two parties; but it is not a necessary  condition for the validity of the transaction that the property should remain in that  possession.  

Article 773 – No property which is incapable of being alienated or transferred legally may  be the subject of the pledge.  

Article 774 – A pledged thing must be a definite object, and the pledging of a debt or a  profit is void.  

Article 775 – A pledge may be given for any property which is owed, even though a  contract which gives rise to the debt be subject to cancellation.  

Article 776 – It is possible for one person to give a thing in pledge in respect of two or  more debts which he owes to two or more persons. In that case the creditors must agree  among themselves as to who shall have possession of the thing; similarly it is possible for  two persons to pledge a thing to one person in return for a claim which he has on them. 

۷۲  

Article 777 – In the course of a contract of pledge, or in accordance with a separate  contract, it is possible for the debtor to make the creditor his attorney empowering him to  ensure that if , at the time appointed , the debtor does not pay his debt, the creditor will  recover from the object pledged or from its price the amount of his claim; and it is also  possible that he should arrange that the attorneyship mentioned above should continue  after the death of the creditor, vesting in his heirs; and finally it is possible that the  attorneyship should be given to a third person.  

Article 778 –If it is laid down as a condition that the creditor has no right to sell the thing  pledged, it (i.e. the condition) is void.  

Article 779 – If the creditor has no authority for the sale of the thing pledged, and the  debtor also is not ready to sell it or to pay the debt, the creditor refers to the judge who  will compel a sale or oblige the debtor to pay the debt in another way.  

Article 780 – The creditor who holds the pledge has preference over every other claimant  in the settlement of his claim from the price of the pledged thing.  

Article 781 – If the thing pledged be sold at a price greater than the claim of the creditor,  the excess belongs to the owner thereof; and if, on the contrary, the proceeds of the sale  are less, the creditor must have recourse to the debtor for the balance.  

Article 782 – In the circumstances of the last part of the foregoing Article, if the debtor  has become indigent, the creditor shares with the creditors of the bankruptcy.  

Article 783 – If the debtor pays a part of the debt, he has no right to claim the restitution  of part of the thing pledged, and the creditor may retain the whole of it until the whole of  the debt is paid, unless another arrangement has been agreed upon between the debtor  and the creditor.  

Article 784 – It is permissible to change the thing pledged for something else, with the  agreement of the two parties.  

Article 785 – Everything which in a contract of sale is reckoned as appertaining to the  thing sold without any special mention thereof, enters also into the thing pledged.  

Article 786 – The earning of the thing pledged and the profits which may accrue to it, will  form part of the thing pledged if they are joined to it; if they are not joined , they belong  to the debtor, unless another arrangement has been agreed upon the two parties.  

Article 787 – A contract of pledged is binding as far as the debtor is concerned, but it is  optional on the creditor; therefore, the creditor may, whenever he desires, cancel the  contract, but the pledger cannot take back his pledge before he has paid his debt or before  he has, in some legal manner, become discharged of his debt.  

Article 788 – A pledge does not become cancelled by the death of the pledger or of the  creditor, but if the creditor dies the debtor may request that the pledge may be given to  the possession of a third person appointed with the consent of the heirs and of him.  

If the parties concerned do not come to an agreement, the aforesaid person will be  appointed by the judge. 

۷۳  

Article 789 – The pledge is regarded as an, amanat’ (article on trust) when in the hands of  the creditor; therefore, the creditor will not be responsible for its decay or for its  deterioration, unless he is at fault.  

Article 790 – When the debtor has cleared himself from his debt, the pledge is a trust in  the hands of the creditor; but if, on being asked to return it, he refuses to do so, he will  become a guarantor for it, even if he is not at fault.  

Article 791 – If the thing pledged becomes destroyed in consequence of the act of the  pledger himself or of some other person, the person who destroys it must give the  equivalent of the pledge, and the said equivalent will then become the pledge.  

Article 792 – The attorneyship mentioned in Article 777 will not apply to the equivalent  pledge mentioned in the foregoing Article.  

Article 793 – The pledger cannot enter into possession of the pledge in such a way as to  be contrary to the rights of the creditor, except with the latter’s permission  

Article 794 – The debtor may make changes in the pledge, or perform other proprietory  rights on the pledge which are of advantage to it and which do not impinge on the rights  of the creditor, without there being any right for the creditor to prevent such action; if the  creditor prevents, the judge may give permission.  

SECTION 19  

On Gifts (Donation)  

Article 795 – A Gift is a contract in virtue of which a person gives over to another gratis  the proprietory rights in a thing.  

The person who gives is called, wahib’ (the donor); the other party is called, muttahab’  (the donee), and the thing which is the subject of the gift is called ain-i-mohubeh’.  

Article 796 – The donor must have capacity to contract and possess his thing  Article 797 – The donor must be the owner of the thing which he gives.  

Article 798 – A gift does not take place except with the acceptance of the done and with  his taking possession of it, whether the donee himself takes over the gift or whether his  attorney does so: and taking possession of the thing without the permission of the donor  is of no effect.  

Article 799 – In a gift to a minor, or to a lunatic, or to a person of unsound mind, the  taking possession of the legal guardian is lawful  

Article 800 – If the thing given is in the hands of the donee there is no need for him to  take it over.  

Article 801 – A gift may be reciprocal. Hence, the donor may make a condition that the  donee should give him a thing, or perform gratis a lawful service.  

Article 802 – If, before possession has been taken, the donor or the donee dies, the gift  becomes void. 

۷۴  

Article 803 – After possession has been taken, also, the donor may take back his gift,  provided it still exists, except in the following circumstances:  

۱- When the donee is the father, the mother, or the children of the donee.  2 – When the gift has been reciprocated and the reciprocated gift has been hander over.  

۳ – When the thing given has passed out of the possession of the donee, or has become  the object of the rights of another , whether by way of compulsion , as where the donee  has become a ward in consequence , or by way of choice, as when the thing given has  been given as a pledge.  

۴- When a change has been made in the thing given.  

Article 804 – If the donor terminates the gift, the usufruct of the thing given belong to the  donor if they are attached to the thing, and to the donee if they are separate.  

Article 805 – No revocation can be made after the death of the donor or the donee.  

article 806 – If a creditor agrees to surrender his claim upon the debtor, he has no right of  revocation.  

Article 807 – If a person gives a thing to another by way of a benefaction (or alms), he  has no right of revocation.  

PART3  

On the Exercise of the Right of Pre – emption (Shuf’eh)  

Article 808 – When real property, capable of being divided, is held jointly by two  individuals, and one of them transfers his share to a third person by way of sale, the other  joint owner has the right to give the purchaser the price which he has paid for it, and to  take possession of the portion sold.  

This right is known as the right of pre – emption (shuf’eh), and the person who exercises  that right is known as a, shafi ’.  

Article 809 – When a building and trees are sold without the land, there is no right pre –  emption.  

Article 810 -If the property of two persons enjoy the right of passage or a waterway held  in common, and one of them sells his property together with the right of passage on the  road or water, the other one has the right of pre-emption, even though he be not a joint  bolder in undivided shares in the property itself ; but if one of the parties sells the  property apart from the right of passage, the other has no right of pre – emption.  

Article 811 – If the share of one of the two partners is a, waqf’ (religious endowment),  neither the custodian nor the beneficiary of the waqf has any right of pre – emption.  

Article 812 – If the thing sold consists of several units, and some of them are subject to  pre – emption and the rest are not , it is possible to execute a right of pre – emption in  respect of the part possible to execute a right of pre – emption in respect of the part which  is capable of pre – emption, in proportion to its share of the price.  

Article 813 – There is no right of pre – emption in an illegal sale. 

۷۵  

Article 814 – The fact that the sale is subject to an option is not an obstacle to the exercise  of the right of pre – emption.  

Article 815 – A right of pre – emption must not be exercised only in respect of one part of  the thing sold; the person entitled to the above – mentioned right must either refrain from  it altogether or perform it in respect of the whole of the thing sold.  

Article 816 – The exercise of the right of pre – emption renders void any transaction  which the purchaser may have performed before that and after the contract of sale, in  respect of the subject of the right of pre – emption.  

Article 817 – In respect of a partner who exercises his right of pre – emption, the  purchaser is a guarantor for any claim of owner ship, not the seller. But if, at the time of  the exercise of the right of pre – emption the subject of the right is not yet handed over to  the possession of the purchaser, the pre – emptor will not have any right of recourse  against the purchaser.  

Article 818 – The purchaser is not a guarantor respecting any defect or fault or decay  which has taken place while the thing has been in his hands before the exercise of the  right of pre – emption and after the thing has been claimed, provided that he has not used  it excessively or been guilty of negligence.  

Article 819 – Profits which may have accrued to the thing sold before the exercise of the  right of pre – emption belong to the purchaser if they are separate, and to the pre – emptor  if they are inseparable; but the purchaser may uproot or destroy any building which he  made or any tree which he has planted.  

Article 820 – If it is apparent that at the time of the sale the thing sold was defective and  the purchaser has there fore been granted a reduction of price, the pre – emptor is entitled  to deduct a corresponding amount from the price at the time when he exercises his option.  

The rights of the purchaser in relation to the seller with regard to a claim of ownership in  the thing sold are the same as those which apply in the course of a contract of sale.  

Article 821 – The right of pre – emption is an immediate one.  

Article 822 – A right of pre – emption may be waived; and the fact that it is waived may  be inferred from anything which points towards the fact that the above – mentioned right  is renounced.  

Article 823 – The right of pre – emption is transferred to the heir or heirs of the pre –  emptor after his death.  

Article 824 – If one or more of the heirs waive their right, the remaining heirs cannot  exercise their right only in relation to their own portion; they must either waive their right  entirely, or enforce it in relation to the whole of the thing sold. 

۷۶  

PART .4  

On Wills and Inheritance  

CHAPTER 1  

ON WILLS  

SECTION 1  

On General Considerations  

Article 825 – Wills are divided into two categories Possessory and Contractual.  

Article.826 – A Possessory will occurs when a person bestows on another person, without  charge, the property in a thing or a benefit belonging to him to take effect from the date  of his death.  

A Contractual Will occurs when a person appoints one or more other persons to carry out  an affair, or to perform other possessory acts.  

The person making the will is called the Testator; the person in whose favour a  possessory will is made is termed the Beneficiary; the thing which is subject matter of the  will is called the Legacy (,mussabe’) ; and the person who, in virtue of a contractual will  is appointed either as a trustee for one third of the estates or a trustee for a minor, is  called the executor (,vasi’).  

Article 827 – A right of property resulting from a will does not become definite except  with the agreement of the beneficiary after the death of the testator.  

Article 828 – If the beneficiaries are not limited in number, as for instance if the will is in  favour of the poor or for a work of public benevolence, there is no need to accept.  

Article 829 – The acceptance of the beneficiary before the death of the testator is of no  effect, and the testator may revoke his legacy, even if the beneficiary may have taken  possession of the legacy.  

Article 830 – In relation to the beneficiary, the rejection or the acceptance of the legacy  after the death of the testator is valid. Therefore, if the beneficiary rejects the legacy  before the death of the testator, he may accept it after the death ; and if after his death lie  accepts it and takes possession of the legacy, he may not reject it afterwards; but if he has  accepted the legacy before the death, a second acceptance after the death is not necessary.  

Article 831 – If the beneficiary is a minor or insane, the guardian will have to accept or  reject the legacy.  

Article 832 – The beneficiary may accept the legacy in relation to a portion of the legacy;  in that case the will, in relation to the portion which has been accepted, is valid, in  relation to the rest it is void.  

 Article 833 – The heirs of the testator cannot take possession of the legacy, as long as the  beneficiary has not communicated to the heirs whether he rejects or accepts it  

If delay in this notification results in a loss the heirs, the judge will compel the  beneficiary to declare his decision. 

۷۷  

Article 834 – In a contractual will acceptance is not a necessary condition; but the  executor may refuse the duty referred to him during the life time of the testator ;and if he  has not refused it before the death of the testator, he will have no subsequent right of  refusal, even if he was ignorant of the trust.  

SECTION 2  

On the Testator  

Article 835 – The testator must be competent to possess the thing which is the subject of  the will.  

Article 836 – If a person wounds or prisons himself with the intention of committing  suicide, or performs other acts of the same nature which causes death, and if after that act  he makes a will, that will is void if he dies; but if, by chance, he does not die ,the will is  valid.  

Article 837 – If a person, by a will, deprives one or more of his heirs of their inheritance ,  that disposition is not valid.  

Article 838 – The testator can revoke his will.  

Article 839 – If the testator makes a second will in contradiction of the first the seconed  will is valid.  

SECTION 3  

On the Legacy  

Article 840 – A Will providing for the employment of a thing in a way contrary to law is  void.  

Article 841 – The legacy must be the property of the testator; and a will which disposes of  the property of another, even though it is with the permission of the owner, is void.  

Article 842 – It is possible to dispose in a will of property which is not in existence.  

Article 843 – The testamentary disposition of more than one – third of the estate is not  valid, except with the permission of the heirs; and if some of the heirs agree, the  disposition applies only to the share of those heirs.  

Article 844 – If the legacy is a definite thing, that thing is to be valued, if its price is more  than one – third of the estate, the excess belongs to the heirs , unless they allow otherwise.  

Article 845 – The measurement of the third of the estate is fixed in relation to the  testator’s property at his death, not at the time of his making the will.  

Article 846 – If the legacy consists of the property, either for a specified time or  permanently, the portion of one – third shall be separated as follows:  

In the former case, the whole property, with its profits, will be valued . Then, the said  property will be valued having regard to the loss of profits during the period of the  legacy; and the difference between the two prices will be reckoned towards the third part. 

۷۸  

In the latter case, i.e. if the legacy be the permanent profits of the property, and for this  reason the property itself has no value, the price of the property, having regard to the  profits, will be reckoned towards the third part.  

Article 847 – If the legacy consists of things of a standardized nature, not of particular  units, the determination of the units there of is the duty of the heirs, unless other  arrangements have been laid down in the will.  

Article 848 – If the legacy be undivided share of the estate, such as a quarter or a third  thereof, the beneficiary will become a partner in undivided shares with the heirs in that  same proportion of the estate  

Article 849 – If the testator leaves as a legacy, in a specified manner, more than one –  third of his estate, and the heirs do not consent to more than one – third, the portion be  separated from the estate in the same manner as laid down in the will, up to the amount of  one- third, and the excess will be void; and if the legacy relates to several objects without  specifying how much goes to each, a deduction will be made from all those objects.  

SECTION 4  

On the Beneficiary Under a will  

Article 850 – The beneficiary must be alive, and must be able to be the proprietor of the  thing which is left to him in the will.  

Article 851 – A legacy in favour of an unborn child is valid, but proprietory rights only  pass if the child is born alive  

Article 852 – If abortion takes place as the result of a crime, the legacy goes to his heirs,  unless the crime prevents their inheriting.  

Article 853 – If the beneficiaries are more than one in number, but are limited in number,  the legacy is divided equally among them, unless the testator arranged differently in the  will.  

SECTION 5  

On the ‘Vasi’ (Executor)  

Article 854 – The testator can appoint one or more persons as executor. If they are more  than one, the persons appointed must carry out the duty together, unless each one of them  has been declared independent.  

Article 855 – The testator may appoint several persons in succession to be executor, in  this way, that if the first dies, the second becomes the executor, and if the second dies, the  third, etc.  

Article 856 – It is possible to appoint a minor as an executor, together with a person of  full age. In that case, the person of full age will execute the duty until the minor arrives at  full age. 

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Article 857 – The testator may appoint one person to supervise the operations of the  executor.  

The limits of the authority of the supervisor will be as stipulated by the testator, or else  will be determined by analogy. Article 858 – The executor is in the position of a trustee  for the property which is in his possession in accordance with the will, but he is not a  guarantor, except in case there is excessive use or negligence.  

Article 859 – The executor must act in accordance with the testator, or else he will be a  guarantor and will be dismissed.  

Article 860 – No one except the father or the father’s father may an executor .for a minor.  

CHAPTER 2  

ON INHERITANCE  

SECTION 1  

On the causes or Inheritance and the Various Degrees of Heirship  

Article 861 – Two things give rise to inheritance: relationship and connexion by marriage.  Article 862 – Persons who take inheritance by relationship are of three categories:  1 – Father, mother and children.  

۲ – Grandparents, brother, sister and their children.  

۳ – Paternal uncles and paternal aunts, maternal uncles and maternal aunts and their  children.  

Article 863 – Heirs of the lower categories take an inheritance when no person of a higher  category exists.  

Article 864 – An instance of those who inherit by marriage is one of the spouses who  survives the other one.  

Article 865 – If several causes of inheritance are united in the same person, he takes  inheritance from all the causes, unless some of those causes exclude other, in which case  he takes inheritance only from those causes which exclude others.  

Article 866 – If there is no heir, the judge will make dispositions concerning the estate.  

SECTION 2  

On the True Commencement of the Inheritance  

Article 867 The inheritance becomes definite on the real or the supposed death of  testator.  

Article 868 – The rights of possession of the heirs, in relation to the estate of the  deceased, do not become established except after the payment of the dues and the debts  attaching to the estate of the deceased. 

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