The Role of Options in the Dissolution of Electronic Contracts in Iranian Law

Abstract

Contract dissolution means the dissolution and severance of the legal relationship resulting from a valid contract, which may be done by the consent of the parties, by the will of one of them, or by law. This concept is distinct from the invalidity of a contract, because in invalidity, a contract is not fundamentally realized, while in dissolution, a valid and enforceable contract is destroyed for a specific reason. In the Iranian legal system, the reasons for the dissolution of a contract include rescission, termination, and annulment. In electronic contracts, despite the difference in the context of conclusion, the general principles and rules governing the dissolution of contracts are also applicable, and the Electronic Commerce Law of 2003 has also confirmed this in various articles. Options, as one of the most important reasons for termination, also play a fundamental role in the electronic space. Although some of them, such as the option of the assembly, are practically unenforceable due to the lack of a physical assembly in online transactions, other options, such as the option of defect, the option of breach of condition, the option of fraud, and the option of breach of description, have found new examples due to the characteristics of electronic transactions. In the meantime, the seven-day right of withdrawal of the consumer in Article 37 of the Electronic Commerce Law can be considered a special type of legal option that is envisaged with the aim of protecting the consumer in the digital context. A comparative study between traditional options and the rights provided for in electronic commerce shows that although the legal nature of these institutions has not changed, the method of applying and proving them faces new challenges such as the difficulty of digital documentation, changing the content of websites, and interpreting concepts such as the marriage contract in the virtual environment. Finally, it can be said that options in electronic contracts play a vital role in creating contractual balance and ensuring exchange justice, and by expanding concepts such as the right of special termination and the right of withdrawal, the legislator has taken steps towards combining traditional jurisprudential rules with the new requirements of digital commerce.