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Sovereign Immunity : Comparative Study UK And Iran

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Enforcement of Arbitral awards in commercial disputes and the defence of Sovereign immunity: Comparative study UK and Iran

For commercial multinational companies and foreign Direct investors (FDI) wanting to contract with Iran or Iranian controlled bodies arbitral awards that seek to be enforced can be challenged by the Iranian government on grounds of sovereign immunity and thus all together curtail the enforcement altogether. I will seek to answer how FDI and commercial parties (being UK companies) are protected and ultimately answer the issues that may arise as a result of a sovereign immunity defence. Furthermore, I will also seek to answer what substantive Legal Protection there is for British Foreign Direct Investors wanting to …show more content…

Iran has currently 53 BITs with countries globally in force but not with UK . I will attempt to explore the legalities and procedures into how it is possible for a UK company to set up safely in Iran and how arbitration can play an essential role in safeguarding the investor as resolutions of disputes with foreign investors as national courts can lead to a lengthy and costly battle. I will also look at what would constitute as foreign investment in Iran and attempt to also see how the award can be enforced against an Iranian entity whilst further exploring how sovereign immunity can effect the enforcement of an award given by a UK arbitral tribunal.

As a signatory to the New York convention since 2001 Iran has adopted arbitration with open arms, as Iran is an Islamic country Sharia law governs it and as such, Quran verses do shed light on arbitration in loose terms , although it was described as more of a reconciliation type model . The enforcement of international commercial arbitration awards in Iran have been overseen by domestic legislation Governed by provisions of domestic legislation and many prevalent over regional or international enforcement instruments, even though Iran has implemented separate arbitration laws that largely are molded from the UNCITRAL Model Law . This can be seen as a very good incentive for FDI as it gives the investor some comfort.

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