The Impact of Implementing Sanction by the Party of the Six Countries (5+1) in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in Exercising the International Upstream Oil Agreements from the Point of the View of Iran’s Legal System

Does the violation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) because of withdrawing or claiming of violation and subsequently to implement sanctions again cause to the exemption or suspension of oil industry in upstream area? It is a disputable subject that if the exercising of sanctions are instances of force majeure or it is counted of the difficulty of practicing the agreement. The main provision for occurring the force majeure is to be the happening foreseeable and to be uncontrollable. Pursuant to the content of the paragraph 14 and 15 of 2231 resolution of the UN Security Council, the applied sanction is effective to the contracts signed after the date of sanction. The occurrence of sanction cannot merely result the happening of force majeure because if the sanction is predictable, it cannot be of the instances of the force majeure. In this circumstance it can be said that the sanction can be considered of instances of the difficulty of the implementation of the agreement. In Articles 227 and 229 frustrations of contract has been mentioned and in the law of Iran it is accepted. But what has been stated under Articles 227 and 229 merely observing frustration of contract (refers to a particular way in which contractual obligations can be discharged) subsequently it will be the material damage of the subject of responsibility which the force majeure makes it occur which in the oil contract the material damage has not happened because this kind of the oil contracts is ongoing. For this reason in the recent amendment (the regulations observing the conclusion and performance of oil agreements) it has been explicitly stated that it should be observed the paragraphs 14 and 15 of 2231 resolution in the situation of drawing up agreement (contract) this subject indicates that it is not any more considered as one of instances of force majeure in the upstream oil agreements .Therefore, it is necessary to observe sanction as of instances of difficulty to perform the agreements that it leads to regulate the agreement.