Analysis and Explanation of the Principles and Foundations of Property Restitution

Abstract

Restitution is a type of civil guarantee that includes any form of illicit acquisition of property, whether the unlawful cause stems from the commission of criminal offenses or one of the bases of civil liability, such as unjust enrichment. Restitution, as it embodies the meaning of returning and recovering, applies to situations where a person’s possession is unlawful. Property restitution arises under particular conditions and situations, which have both contractual and non-contractual origins. According to the contractual basis, the parties to a contract, based on their freedom of will, agree and consent to return the property transferred during the course of the contract. In the non-contractual basis, the reason for restitution of property is specified and determined by law in each case; in this type of restitution, the individual acts to return the property based on clearly defined legal rules, unrelated to any contractual foundation. In Iranian law, restitution refers to the return of property to its true owner or their legal representative. This study uses an analytical and descriptive method to examine the principles and foundations of property restitution. As a result, in Iranian law, with the implementation of the principle of property restitution, the beneficiary obtains the right to claim, while the other party incurs a prohibition on the use of the property and an obligation to return it, leading to liability for their possession of the property subject to the rule of restitution.