IRANIAN CIVIL CODE Articles 1 to 1335 PREAMBLE On the Publication, effects and execution of laws in general. Article 1, Laws must be Published within three days of their receiving the royal consent. Article 2, In Tehran Jaws must be Put into force ten days after publication, and in the Provinces after the expiry of a fiiroijar Period Plus one day for every Six farsakhs (36 Kilometers) that a PJace is distant from Tehran, unless the law itself embodies a ', special Provision as to the date of its entry into force. Article 3. The text of laws must be Published in the official Journal. Artlele 4. A J.aw 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 be 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 be observed by all Iranian subjects, even if resident abroad. Article '1. Foreing nationals resident in Iranian 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 slrouarly in questions relating to rights of inheritance. Arilele 8. Immovable Property, of which foreign nationals have 2l ~-',,.--- ~--
' taken Possession or shall take Possession under the terms of.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 Fundamental Law, concluded between the Iranian Government and other Governments 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 provisio~ of a law. VOLUME I CONCERNING PROPERTY BOOK I GENERAL PROVISIONS CONCERNING OWNERSHIP CHAPTER I 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 moving of it would necessarily involve damage or injury either to the property itself or its emplacement. Article 13, Land and buildings and mills and everything wich is fixed in a building and is by common use considered a part 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 f8a' as they are attached.to the ground or to a building in such I t 23
.,., "' " J,,-~, ;. -,_-~Jj.L -~i}t \ Y' \ a way that their removal would cause injury or damage to them or to their emplacements, are considered immovable. Article 15. Fruit and crops shall be deemed immovable provided that they have not been picked or reaped, and if a portion shall have been picked or reap,ed, only that portion shall be accounted movable. Article 16.. In general. trees and the branches thereof, young plants, and cuttings as long as they have not been cut or dug up, be considered immovable. Article 17. Animals and equipment which the owner shall have provided specifically for cultivation such as oxen, buffal.oes, machines, implements and appurtenances of husbandry, seeds etcet.era, 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 of benefit from immovable objects such as a life interest. the right of residence and siroijarly the rights of easement (JVer the land of another, such as the rights of passage and of transit of water and rights derived from immovable property such as demands for eviction and simuar applications, shall follow the rules concerning immovable property. SECTION 2 CONCERNING MOVABLE PROPERTY Arilcle 19. Articles which it is possible to transport from place to place, without causing damage either to the articles themselves:.or to their emplacements, are considered movable..&rucle 20. All debts arising out of loans, or the price of things sold, 24.
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 on rivers or seas, and capable of movement and all 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 att.achment 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 tb,e building, shall be considered movable. SECTION 3 CONCERNING PROPERTY WHICH HAS NO PRIVATE OWNER Article 23. Benefit from property which has no private owner shall be taken in accordance with the relevant laws. Article :U. No one shall take possession of common roads and highways, nor of streets of which one end is not closed. Article 25. No one may take possession of property which se1:'ves the common good and which has no private owner, such as bridges, caravanserais, public reservoirs, ancient schools, and public open places. And the same applies to the aqueducts "ghanats" and wells of wich the use is public. Article 26. Government property which is disposed for the public service and profit such as fortifications, fortresses, moats, mllita.cy earthworks, arsenals, weapons, stores, warships, and similarly the furniture and buildings of the royal family, government buildings and.telegraph wires, museums, public libraries, historical monuments and similar objects, in brief whatever property movable 25
,, "..,...,.. ;.,.. ;. t~~--.!,:--,. IV' V or immovable, is in use by the Government for the service of the public and the profit of the state, may not be privately owned. And the same provisions shall apply to property which shall have been appropriated for the public service by provincial, district or municipal authorities. Article 2'1. The appropriation of property which is not private property and which private individuals, acting in accordance with the regu]atk>ns contained in this law and the special laws dealing with each particular category, take into their possession and exploit, shall be termed permissible, and under this beading shall come waste lands, that is say lands whi~h have fallen into disuse and on which are neither habitations nor cultivation. Article 28. Property of unknown ownership shall be devoted to the needs of the poor, subject to the judge's permission or that of a person authorised by him. CHAPTER II 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 prop.erty;- 1. The right of possession (whether of the substance of the tbing or its benefit.) 2. The usufruct or the right of exploitation. 3. Rights of easement or the servitude in the property of another. SECTION 1 CONCERNING OWNERSHIP Arilcle 30. Every owner has unlimited rights of occupation and exploitation over his property except in matters in which the law has made an exception. Article 31 No property can be alienated from the possession of its owner except in accordance with a legal ord,er. 26 '
Article 32 All products and appurtenances of the property whether movable or immovabie, 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 th,e 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 s~eds of another party. If this is the cas,e 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 ownership as the mother, and whoev.er is the owner of the mother shall be considered the owner of the offspring. Article 35 Possession by title. of ownership shall be taken as proof of ownership unless the contrary be proved. Article 36 Possession which is proved not to be derived from a title to ownership nor from a lawful transfer, shall have no validity. Article 37 If the present occupier admits that the property formerly belonged to the claimant, he cannot, 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 ownership 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 provision to the contrary. 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. 27 I Y' '\
:>. <!'_',.':-:,,; -r "~\ ~' I\" o SECTION 2 CONCERNING THE RIGHT USUFRUCT OR THE OF EXPLOITATION Article 40 The usufruct or 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. SUB - SECTION 1 Concerning life-rights, (Roghba), rights for a prescribed period and rights of occupation Article 41 A life right (Omra) 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 that of a third party., Article 42 " A right for a presoribed period (Roghba) is usufruct or a right of exploitation which the owner grants for a limited time. Article 43 If the usufruct or the right of exploitation includes the right of occupying a habitation, it is termed residential or the right of habitation (Sokna) and it is permissible for this right to be assigned as a life right or as a right for a limited period. Artlele 44 In cases where the owner has not prescribed a time-limit for the. usufruct or the right of exploitation, the surrender is absolute, and the said right shall run untill the death of the own.er unless he revokes the surrender before his d,eath. Artiele 45 In the above mentioned cases it is only permissible for the usufruct or the right of exploitation to be granted on behalf of a Pifil'S<>n or persons who were alive at the time of the 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 contraot, and as long as the own,ers of the usufruct or the right of exploit.ation are alive it shall be valid; and after their decease it shall. lapse. 2S