Establishing and Assessing Mistake Preventing Consent on the Basis of Apparent and Internal Will in English and Iranian Law

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Associate Professor, Department of Law, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran.

2 PhD Student in Private Law, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran.

Abstract

In contract interpretation, if the court relies on the parties' apparent intention to identify mistake, only a mistake in the expressed words prevents formation of the contract. If the parties' internal intention is treated as the basis of contract formation, then a mistake in each party's mental conception may also prevent agreement. This study compares English and Iranian law to determine whether apparent or internal will is the criterion for identifying mistake that prevents consent. The authors hypothesize that legal systems generally rely on apparent will and the content of the contract at the stage of proof, while exceptions arise where one party knows or should know that the other is mistaken. The findings show that English law primarily applies an objective standard based on apparent will, whereas Iranian law gives greater theoretical weight to internal will but, in practice and in proof, often relies on external manifestations.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

 

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Studies of Islamic Jurisprudence and Basis of Law
Volume 19, Issue 52 - Serial Number 52
January 2025
Pages 313-337

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