The Nature of Performance of Obligations in Iranian and Iraqi Law

In light of the recognition of the principle of fulfilling obligations and contracts as a necessary condition of religious commitment and one of the most important theoretical foundations of Islam, performance of obligations in both the Iranian and Iraqi legal systems has been regarded as the most natural institution for the execution of commitments. This performance is considered to have an effect which, in the Iranian legal system, is described as the extinction of the obligation (suqūt al-ta‘ahhud), while in the Iraqi legal system it is conceived as the expiration of the obligation (inqidāʾ al-iltizām). The Civil Code of Iran addresses the subject of performance of obligations under Articles 265 to 282 as one of the causes of extinguishment of obligations, whereas the Iraqi Civil Code elaborates performance of obligations in Chapter One of Book Five, under the title inqidāʾ al-iltizām (termination of obligation), in Articles 375 to 398. This study, through a descriptive-analytical method, aims to clarify the legal nature of performance of obligations in the Iranian and Iraqi systems. The findings suggest that in both systems, what in fact occurs during the execution of an obligation is the manifestation of human will, the outcome of which is the extinction of the obligation. Moreover, the legal nature of performance of obligations depends on the subject matter within each legal relationship. In simple cases, performance of obligations constitutes a legal event, which generally does not require the declarative intent (irādah inshā’ī) of the parties. However, if performance requires the accomplishment of another legal act, its nature is dependent upon that accompanying act. Thus, if the legal act performed for the fulfillment of the debt requires mutual consent, the performance of obligations takes the form of a contract; if it is carried out unilaterally, it becomes a unilateral act (īqāʿ). In other instances, when no will is involved in its realization and it is effected by force of law, it is classified as a legal event.