Attribution of Payment to one of the Several Debts in the Civil Law of Iran, France, and the Shiite Jurisprudence

Fulfillment is one of the causes of termination of obligation. Concerning fulfillment the following question may arise: if one is under several debts to another، and the amount he pays to the creditor towards satisfying his obligation is not enough to discharge him of all his debts، which of the debts would the payment in question cover? Article 282 of civil law has broadly responded to this question giving the decision concerning attribution of the payment to the debtor. However، this article does not respond to the question if the debtor does not use the power of attribution at the time of fulfillment، which of the debts would that payment cover? The broadness of this article has divided experts in law. The source of article 282 of Iranian civil law is article 1253 of French law. However، in the civil law of France، the legislator has clarified the issue in the above mentioned article and some other articles. The present article analyzes the views of Iranian lawyers comparing them to the civil law of France.