Anglo-Iranian Oil Co. (United Kingdom v. Iran)

OVERVIEW OF THE CASE

In 1933 an oil concession agreement was concluded between the Government of Iran and the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. In 1951, laws were passed in Iran for the nationalization of the oil industry. These laws resulted in a dispute between Iran and the company. The United Kingdom took up the company’s case and instituted proceedings before the Court. Iran disputed the Court’s jurisdiction. In its Judgment of 22 July 1952, the Court decided that it had no jurisdiction to deal with the dispute. Its jurisdiction depended on the declarations by Iran and the United Kingdom accepting the Court’s compulsory jurisdiction under Article 36, paragraph 2, of the Court’s Statute. The Court held that the declaration by Iran, which was ratified in 1932, covered only disputes based on treaties concluded by Iran after that date, whereas the claim of the United Kingdom was directly or indirectly based on treaties concluded prior to 1932. The Court also rejected the view that the agreement of 1933 was both a concessionary contract between Iran and the company and an international treaty between Iran and the United Kingdom, since the United Kingdom was not a party to the contract. The position was not altered by the fact that the concessionary contract was negotiated through the good offices of the Council of the League of Nations. By an Order of 5 July 1951, the Court had indicated interim measures of protection, that is, provisional measures for protecting the rights alleged by either party, in proceedings already instituted, until a final judgment was given. In its Judgment, the Court declared that the Order had ceased to be operative.


This overview is provided for information only and in no way involves the responsibility of the Court.

Institution of proceedings


Written proceedings

22 June 1951
Procedure(s):Provisional measures
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4 February 1952
Procedure(s):Preliminary objections
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Oral proceedings

Verbatim record 1951 (bilingual version)
Minutes of the Public Sittings held at the Peace Palace, The Hague, on June 30th and July 5th, 1951, the President, M. Basdevant, presiding
Procedure(s):Provisional measures
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Verbatim record 1952 (bilingual version)
Minutes of the Public sittings held at the Peace Palace, from June 9th to 23rd and July 22rd, 1952, the Vice-President, Mr Guerrero, acting as President
Procedure(s):Preliminary objections
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Other documents


Orders

Fixing of time-limits: Memorial and Counter-Memorial
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Request for the indication of interim measures of protection
Procedure(s):Provisional measures
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Extension of time-limits: Memorial and Counter-Memorial
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Extension of time-limit: Counter-Memorial
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Fixing of time-limit: Written Statement of observations and submissions on preliminary objection
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Judgments


Summaries of Judgments and Orders

Summary of the Judgment of 22 July 1952
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Press releases

28 May 1951
Anglo-Iranian Oil Co. (United Kingdom v. Iran) - Filing, by the United Kingdom, of an Application instituting proceedings against Iran
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25 June 1951
Anglo-Iranian Oil Co. (United Kingdom v. Iran) - The Court will hold a public hearings on 30 June 1951
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27 August 1951
Anglo-Iranian Oil Co. (United Kingdom v. Iran) - Order extending the time-limits for the filing of the Memorial of the United Kingdom and the Counter-Memorial of Iran
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8 December 1951
Anglo Iranian Oil Co. (United Kingdom v. Iran) - Iran appoints H.E. Hossein Navab as Agent (Bilingual version)
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1 February 1952
Anglo Iranian Oil Co. (United Kingdom v. Iran) - The Government of Iran files a document entitled "Preliminary observations: refusal by the Imperial Government to recognize the jurisdiction of the Court"
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28 March 1952
Anglo Iranian Oil Co. (United Kingdom v. Iran) - The hearings will begin on Tuesday, May 6th, at 11 o'clock
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8 April 1952
Anglo Iranian Oil Co. (United Kingdom v. Iran) - The date of the opening of the hearings is postponed
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21 May 1952
Anglo Iranian Oil Co. (United Kingdom v. Iran) - The opening of oral proceedings has been fixed for Monday, June 9th, 1952
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6 June 1952
Anglo Iranian Oil Co. (United Kingdom v. Iran) - Delegations of the Parties for the oral hearings
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19 July 1952
Anglo Iranian Oil Co. (United Kingdom v. Iran) - The Judgment will be read on 22nd July, 1952, at 5 p.m.
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22 July 1952
Anglo-Iranian Oil Co. (United Kingdom v. Iran) - Judgment
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Correspondence

26 May 1951
Correspondence
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