Explaining the General Rules for the Distribution Agreements Formation with Respect to the Competition Law

Distribution agreements, as the main element of distribution law, are the efficient legal instruments that play an essential role in the process of supplying goods and some services to the markets and selling them to final consumers. The distribution network resulting from the conclusion of these types of contracts has tangible advantages over the traditional "commercial agency". However, since it also has negative anti-competitive effects and creates situations such as the economic dependence of distributors on suppliers, a special legal system has been set up to govern this category of contracts in Western countries. By contrast, in Iranian law, distribution contracts are not well-known, and despite the effectiveness of the general rules of contracts in civil law in determining the conditions of the validity of these types of contracts, the new system of competition law in Iran has shortcomings in this area. This article examines the common rules for formation of these contracts in the light of rules of competition law. In doing so, it conducts an analytical and comparative study under French law, European law and Iranian law in order to provide the necessary theoretical basis for the development of a comprehensive system of such contracts in Iran.