Private Law Research

Systematizing the General Theory of Rescission as a Remedy for Fundamental Breach of Contract

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Abbas Karimi 1
Mohammad Ezlegini 2

1 Professor, Department of Private and Islamic Law, Faculty of Law and Political Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

2 Ph.D. Candidate in Private Law, Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

10.22054/jplr.2026.94888.3038
Abstract
The right to rescind a contract in Iranian law is founded upon contractual options and other specific legal grounds. To date, neither in statutory law nor in judicial practice has the right to rescind in response to a fundamental breach of contract been explicitly recognized. The central question of this research is whether, relying on existing jurisprudential foundations and legal texts, a novel and indigenous theory—under the rubric of a general theory of rescission based on fundamental breach of contract—can be devised and defended within Iranian law. Employing a descriptive, analytical, and comparative method, the present study examines and scrutinizes the possibility of an initial right of rescission in the face of a fundamental breach. The findings indicate that although this theory lacks legislative, judicial, and doctrinal precedent in the Iranian legal system, it can nonetheless be justified on the basis of implied or tacit conditions. Evidently, the practical realization of this theory would require the engagement of judicial practice and the emergence of the first judgments grounded in the criterion of fundamental breach of contract. It is hoped that diligent judges and prudent magistrates will properly reform the judicial trajectory and reinforce the foundations of this theory

Keywords

Fundamental Breach
Specific Performance
Implied Term
Unilateral Rescission
Retroactive Effect
Subjects
Private Law Research

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 25 October 2026

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