Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
Assistant Professor, Department of Private Law, Faculty of Law and Political Science, University of Mazandaran, Babolsar, Iran.
Abstract
Any right, whether positive or negative, can be transferred. Assignment means that all or a part of the existing obligation is transferred to one or more persons with the agreement of the assigner and the assignee without obtaining the consent and agreement of the debtor, for compensation or free of charge. The person who becomes the owner of the obligation after the assignment can use all the attributes and benefits of that obligation. One of the basic issues in the discussion of the assignment is the debtor's rights and the way to protect their rights in the assignment. The review of domestic laws shows the ambiguities and gaps of this legal entity, and the resolution of these ambiguities and gaps depends on comparative study. Therefore, this research with a comparative study aims to answer the question of what are the rights of the debtor in the assignment and how can the rights of the debtor be protected at the time of the assignment? In this research, in a descriptive and analytical way, the voluntary assignment and the way of protecting the rights of the debtor in the assignment in the legal system of Iran and English law and the principles of European contract law will be dealt with, which is appropriate considering the countless gaps in this matter. Iran's legal system benefited from the achievements of other legal systems, especially the principles of European contract law, which is an international document, and its basic foundations are based on European common law, in order to improve and eliminate gaps.
By referring to some laws such as Articles 746 and 321 of the Civil Code, Article 38 of the Insolvency Law, and Article 26 of the Insurance Law, it is possible to prove the existence of assignment in Iran's legal system and its independence and distinction from the legal institution of Novation. According to this research, the legal rules about assignment should be set in such a way as to protect the debtor. The first way to protect the debtor is the non-assignment clause in contracts, which is accepted in all three legal systems. In addition, there is a general rule in the assignment that the assignee cannot have more rights than the assigner, or even in some cases may have fewer rights than the assigner, which ultimately owes the benefits of this general rule. In addition, if the assignment takes place between the assigner and the assignee and the debtor takes action to fulfill the obligation to the assigner before receiving the official notification, in this situation, the obligee will not re-enforce the obligation and leave the resulting loss to the parties. In the rule of Prior Tempore Potior Jure, the first assigner is based on the date of assignment, and in the rule that was adopted in the case of Dearle v Hall, the date of written notice to the debtor is the criterion for determining the person entitled to enforcement.
In the British legal system and the principles of European contract law, a written notice to the debtor about the assignment is mandatory, but there is no provision in Iranian law regarding the written notice to the obligee after the assignment. This issue is also one of the important objections regarding the assignment request. Of course, according to the insolvency Law, the assignee can be released from responsibility by proving that he informed the assignment before payment or that the debtor was informed about the assignment by another means. Therefore, in Iranian law, the knowledge of the debtor is effective in transferring the claimant, and this knowledge can be realized in both written and oral ways.
So the necessity of compiling and enacting comprehensive laws in relation to the legal entity of the assignment and assigning an independent title to it in civil law considering the great importance of this legal entity and especially considering the expansion of transactions in the field of international trade and increasing the speed of exchanges, is seriously felt. Also, like English law and the principles of European contract law, in Iranian law, a written notice to the debtor about the assignment must be required in the form of a statement or by the court officers, because in this case, it avoids creating any dispute and ultimately leads to a reduction in the number of claims.
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