Transfer of Nonexistent Property in Future Sales Contracts: A Comparative Study of Imamiah Jurisprudence and Iranian, French and English Laws

Abstract

The sale of a future property is a transaction in which the property does not yet exist at the time of the contract’s conclusion but will exist in the future. The property may be passing of ownership or an ascertained (i.e. definite and specific) object. This study investigated the latter type, that is, the sale of a future ascertained object. There are two obstacles to the validity of this contract. The first obstacle is the impossibility of ownership of nonexistent. The second obstacle is that this type of sale is uncertain (Bai' al-Gharar). However, from an analytical point of view, neither of the said obstacles can impair the validity of this type of contract because both obstacles can be overcome. In French civil code, making commitments concerning a future property is explicitly authorized. In English law, the sale of future property, which is a type of unascertained property, is not known as a transfer, but as an agreement to transfer. In the Iranian legal system, the legislator has not addressed this subject through a specific law. However, some principles of the legal system and some legal texts, including Article 842 of the Civil Code, can act as a basis for the sale of future property.This study draws on analytical–descriptive methods.