Legal Sources of Obligation to Provide Information and Its Performance Guarantee in Iranianand British Law

Identifying the consumers’ right to have access to information has a significant effect onorganizing their behavior and making an informed choice in goods consumption. With thecomplexity of the structure of the goods and the difference in the information level of themanufacturing and supplying specialists compared to the consumer, a kind of informationasymmetry has been created that endangers social peace and tranquility and creates tension in therelations between the two social groups: the supplier and the producer on the one hand and theconsumer on the other hand. Therefore, to prevent problems arising from the asymmetry ofinformation, the task of providing information to the consumer is assigned to the suppliers ofgoods. In addition to the will of the parties and their agreement regarding the obligation toprovide information explicitly and implicitly, the importance of the law as one of the sources ofthis obligation should not be overlooked. The issue of the obligation to provide information inlegal sources can be the act of providing necessary information or the act of refraining fromproviding false information, depending on the case. In Iranian law, the traces of acceptance ofboth aspects of this obligation can be observed in both general and special regulations. In thecommon law legal system, the lack of guidance and warning is considered a type of productdefect. However, since the discussion of the obligation to inform and the duty of producers andsellers regarding guidance and warning is important and comprehensive, it is investigatedseparately from the discussion of defect option under an independent heading.