Revisiting the Nature of Contract and Analysis of the Place of Void Contract in Shia Jurisprudence and Iranian Law

Studying the sentences of jurists and legal experts concerning the definition of contract and enumeration of its effects, one can reach the conclusion that in their view, reliance upon the intention of construction and creation of a change in the world of mind are two inseparable features of contract. This approach has caused the term “contract” to be merely used in the course of time in its true meaning and the void contract to be identified with a contract that has not been sealed. Nevertheless, it seems that although both abovementioned states are the same in failure of creation of an effect, void contract is a real phenomenon that in some cases can create effect. The practical outcome of this claim is clear in such cases as the option of contract invalid in part, right of termination as a result of the nullification of the condition, even the principle of reduction of single contract into several contracts. Having assayed the ideas of the jurists and the Iranian laws, authors of current essay believe that the term “contract” is coined to refer to both correct and void contracts and thus, contract is considered to be a source of division and not a mentally posited entity that is taken as a real phenomenon.