Nationalization of the Iranian Oil Industry: A Legal Analysis

The Nationalisation of the Iranian Oil Industry has been a historic move by Iran around 70 years ago to free itself of the political influence of the United Kingdom. In the modern world in which States can exercise their political influences by companies acting under their control and direction, interventions in the inherently domestic affairs of States have taken new forms. The UK-Iran relation as a result of the 1901 D’Arcy’s concession is the main focus of this article. Even though the International Court of Justice could not go beyond the jurisdictional matters in the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company Case of 1951, international law and in particular, international jurisprudence have created a well-established series of law that can be applicable over Iran-UK Case. The authors have argued in detail that Iran’s nationalisation movement has satisfied all the required elements. Iran’s nationalisation movement was, indeed, an action to guarantee its sovereign rights and to ensure its political independence from foreign powers, which has its roots in the most fundamental principles of the establishment of the United Nations.