The Role of the General Requirements of Contracts in Determining the Specificity of the Subject Matter of a Transaction

Karimi, Abbas; Mahdian, Mohsen

doi:10.30497/sj.2024.246698.1407

The Role of the General Requirements of Contracts in Determining the Specificity of the Subject Matter of a Transaction

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Abbas Karimi ¹

mohsen mahdian ²

¹ Professor,Department of Private and Islamic Law, Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

² PhD Student in Private Law Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

10.30497/sj.2024.246698.1407

Abstract

The analysis of contractual intent and the precise stages at which each contractual element manifests itself has long been a battleground of opinions among jurists and, consequently, legal scholars. Among these elements, the specificity of the subject matter of the transaction stands out as a cornerstone of contract law. This issue becomes particularly pertinent in the modern world, where individuals often enter into contracts in a somewhat general manner to accommodate social and commercial exigencies. The central question arises: how can the validity of such contracts be justified?
According to the theory of the general Requirements of contracts, every contract, at the time of its formation, must possess the requisite of agreement. This agreement, based on formal logic, encompasses the concept of offer and acceptance, along with the subject matter of the transaction, all occurring simultaneously. This logical understanding is further supported by commercial needs, the principle of the stability of transactions, and the economic conditions of society.
Therefore, if an agreement can be ascertained in a reliable manner within the context of a contract, the validity and continued existence of the contract should be upheld, preventing its dissolution. In this article, the authors first delve into a thorough examination of the condition of specificity of the subject matter of the transaction (Section I). Subsequently, they explore the feasibility of applying the theory of the general requisite of contracts to the identification of the subject matter (Section II), employing a descriptive-analytical approach.

Keywords

Agreement

Indeterminacy

Requirement of Contract

Transaction

Will