Scope of Application of Article 9 of the Civil Code with Respect to the International Obligations of Iran

According to Article 9 of the Civil Code, the treaties made following the Constitution between Iran and other states shall have the force of law. Only international treaties, not other sources of creation of international obligation, including customary law, are considered under this article. The treaty must also be into force internationally and have exhausted the ratification process in Iran's legal system. The statute or constituent instrument of the international organizations also to which the Iranian is a member falls within the scope of Article 9. However, the treaties that Iran concludes with international organizations do not have that character. The same is concerning treaties whose provisions are binding on Iran by the specific requirements of international law. Although the Iranian judge had a duty to execute the international obligations of Iran as domestic law, this has not received much attention in the Iranian jurisprudence. However, the recent jurisprudence of Iranian courts including the Appeal Court of Mazandaran in invoking the international obligations of Iran could bold the potential of Article 9 and revitalize this provision in the Iranian jurisprudence.