The Possibility of Stipulating the Termination of Option before Contract in Imamiya Jurisprudence and Iranian Law

Option belongs to the category of rights, not obligations, and therefore it can be terminated. The notion of terminating an option before the contract refers to eliminating the cause and necessity of the option right, rather than nullifying it after its creation. There is uncertainty regarding the capability of stipulating the termination of an option before the contract in Imami jurisprudence and Iranian positive law. The stipulation for the termination of an option before the contract may take the form of a separate agreement regarding the option, an independent condition concerning the option, or even an incidental provision other than the contract that includes the option right. Based on the findings of the present descriptive-analytical study, considering the evolved jurisprudential developments, it is possible and acceptable to stipulate the termination of an option before the contract in each of the aforementioned forms in Imami jurisprudence and Iranian law. However, the existing civil law regulations in this regard are incomplete and ineffective, and their modification, from the perspective of a general definition of conditions that also encompasses pre-contractual conditions, the acceptance of the stipulation for the termination of the option before the contract, the expression of various forms of its legal implications, and ultimately the determination of essential instances of options, is necessary.