Examining the Obligations of Service Providers in the Contracts of Maintenance and Preservation: A Comparison of European Principles of Service Contracts and Iranian Law

The contract of maintenance and preservation is one type of service contracts that includes contracts such as cloud computing, parking services, lease of wombs, etc. In the European Union, this contract has been identified as a specific category of contracts, and its specific rules are provided in two documents, namely, the Principles of Euroean Law on Service Contracts (PELSC) and the Draft Common Frame of Reference (DCFR). According to this contract, one party is obligated to preserve and maintain the deposited property in exchange for receiving compensation. The aforementioned document includes obligations for the service provider, such as the obligation to provide necessary objects and personnel (providing premises, equipment, and suitable workforce), the obligation to exercise care, the obligation to return goods, the obligation to comply, and the obligation to provide reports. This research examines these obligations in the document of European Principles of Service Contracts and compares them with Iranian law. It appears that European countries have been successful in this regard by drafting the aforementioned documents, and the existence of specific laws in this area has led to the establishment of new and consistent procedures. Therefore, it is recommended that since Iran's law does not specifically address the contract of maintenance and preservation, the legislator should address ambiguities regarding this type of contract and related issues by enacting separate legislations, in order to achieve coherent rules and regulations based on the experiences of European countries in this realm.