Document Type : Research Article
Author
Private Law, Razavi University of Islamic Sciences
Abstract
Termination of installment contracts is one of the most complex manifestations of contract dissolution in commercial relations, because the breach of obligation in such contracts is often gradual, staged, and dependent on the macrostructure of the contract. The Convention on the International Sale of Goods in Article 73 has adopted a systematic approach to fundamental breach and interdependence of installments by providing a specific mechanism for the termination of past, future, and entire installments. In contrast, Iranian law does not have a specific provision regarding installment contracts, and the analysis of termination in this area is inevitably carried out through the general rules of options, especially the option of dividing the transaction. The present study, using a descriptive-analytical method and a comparative approach, first examines the general principles of termination in the Convention and the position of fundamental breach, then analyzes the specific mechanism of Article 73 regarding partial and total termination of installment contracts. Next, the principles of termination and the possibility of contract severability in Iranian law are analyzed and the capacities of the option of contract separation and other related rules are evaluated. The research findings show that the Convention, by distinguishing between fundamental and non-fundamental breaches and emphasizing the principle of contract survival, has made the termination of the entire installment contract subject to the fulfillment of narrow conditions and the establishment of structural dependence of the installments; while Iranian law, relying on the traditional system of options and without conceptual grading of breaches,
Keywords
- Termination of contract
- installment contract
- fundamental breach
- Article 73 of the Convention on the International Sale of Goods
- option to separate the transaction
- severability of the contract
- dissolution of the contract
Main Subjects
- Bennett, Trevor (1987), «Comments on Article 72», in Cesare Massimo Bianca & Michael Joachim Bonell (eds.), Commentary on the International Sales Law – The Vienna Sales Convention, Milan: Giuffrè.
- Black, Henry Campbell (2011), Black’s Law Dictionary, 4th ed. St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Co.
- Bridge, Michael (2009), «CISG Advisory Council Opinion No. 9: Consequences of Avoidance of the Contract», Nordic Journal of Commercial Law.
- Chengwei, Liu (2005), «Avoidance in the Case of an Installment Contract», Nordic Journal of Commercial Law, No. 1.
- Chengwei, Liu (2007), Remedies for Non-performance: Perspectives from CISG, UNIDROIT Principles and PECL, New York: Juris Publishing.
- Di Matteo, Larry A. Dhooge, Lucien; Greene, Stephanie; Maurer, Virginia & Pagnattaro, Marisa (2004), «The Interpretive Turn in International Sales Law: An Analysis of Fifteen Years of CISG Jurisprudence», Northwestern Journal of International Law and Business, Vol. 34.
- Enderlein, Fritz & Maskow, Dietrich (1992), Convention on the Limitation Period in the International Sale of Goods, New York: Oceana Publications.
- Garner, Bryan A. (2004), «Black’s Law Dictionary», 8th ed. St. Paul, MN: Thomson West.
- Huber, Peter & Mullis, Alastair (2007), The CISG: A New Textbook for Students and Practitioners, Munich: Sellier European Law Publishers.
- Lookofsky, Joseph (2000), The 1980 United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, in J. Herbots (ed.) & R. Blanpain (gen. ed.), Supplement 29, International Encyclopaedia of Laws – Contracts, The Hague: Kluwer Law International.
- Schlechtriem, Peter (1986), Uniform Sales Law – The UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, Vienna: Manz.
- Shears, Peter (1995), Law for GCSE, London: Pitman Publications.