Effects of Force Majeure on Employer's Liability

Where required elements of liability are established, the agent for the injurious action shall be held liable. Nonetheless, the injurious agent may not always be the wrongdoer; in other words there may be other causes which may contribute in infliction of damages. Proof of an external force may sever the chain of causation and thereby free the defendant from attribution of any fault. The foremost example of external force is the “Force Majeure”, prescribed either expressly or otherwise in some Laws of Iran. Force Majeure may contribute in damages in two ways: It is either the sole cause of the damage or one among several others. Either way, its existence shall considerably affect the liability regime. The grounds on which Force Majeure is based in Islamic jurisprudence are principles such as “Prohibition of damages” [La Zarar], “Prohibition of hardship”[Osr va Haraj] and “Limited-liability of trustees”[Estiman].