Anglo-Iranian Oil Co. case

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United Kingdom v. Iran
CourtInternational Court of Justice
Full case nameAnglo-Iranian Oil Co. (United Kingdom v. Iran)
Decided22 July 1952 (1952-07-22)
Outcome
Jurisdiction rejected[1]
Court membership
Judges sittingsee below
Case opinions
Majority9[1]
Dissent5[1]

The United Kingdom v Iran [1952] ICJ 2 (also known as the Anglo-Iranian Oil Co. case) was a public international law dispute between the UK and Iran. This case concerned the nationalization of Iran's oil which had been, in large part, controlled by the United Kingdom since the early 20th century.

Background[edit]

The Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (formerly the Anglo-Persian Oil Company and currently BP) had been drilling for oil in Iran since 1913. In 1908, a British venture capitalist discovered oil in southern Iran.[2] Throughout the early 20th century, the ruling Pahlavi government made various concessions with the British that gave the UK control over certain elements in the Iranian economy, the 1901 D'Arcy Concession being the earliest of these oil concessions. In 1933, another concession was made which extended the terms of the D'Arcy Concession by 32 years, from 1961 until 1993 and altered how revenue was allocated. The concession would later stoke discontent within Iran.[3]

When Mohammad Mosaddeq became Iran's prime minister in 1951, his National Front party sought to nationalize Iran's oil industry and succeeded in doing so. This then led to the case of United Kingdom v. Iran being taken up by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Facts of the Case[edit]

The UK alleged that the Iranian oil nationalization act of 1951 was counter to a convention agreed upon by the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (now BP) and Iran in 1933. This granted the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company a 60-year licence to mine oil in 260,000 square kilometres (100,000 sq mi) of Iran in return for a percentage royalty.

On 26 May 1951, the UK took Iran to the ICJ, demanding that the 1933 agreement be upheld and that Iran pay damages and compensation for disrupting the UK-incorporated company's profits.

The ICJ quickly issued a temporary ruling, proposing to supervise the operations of the oil company by a board of 5 — two from each state and a fifth from a third — until the legal question had been resolved. The UK accepted, whereas Iran declined as a matter of principle, arguing that the ICJ had no jurisdiction over this case.[4] The UK lodged a formal complaint to the Security Council, claiming that Iran jeopardized world peace by rejecting the temporary ruling out of hand, but the UK was unable to gain enough votes.[5]

People involved[edit]

Sitting judges[edit]

Name Nationality Position Opinion
Arnold Duncan McNair  United Kingdom Presidenta Majority[1]
José Gustavo Guerrero  El Salvador Vice Presidenta Majorityb
Alejandro Álvarez  Chile Judge Dissent[1]
Enrique c. Armand-Ugon  Uruguay Judge Majorityb
Abdel Hamid Badawi  Egypt Judge Majorityb
Jules Basdevant  France Judge Dissentb[6]
Levi Fernandes Carneiro  Brazil Judge Dissent[1]
Green Hackworth  United States Judge Dissent[1]
Helge Klæstad  Norway Judge Majorityb
Hsu Mo  China Judge Majorityb
John Erskine Read  Canada Judge Dissent[1]
Bohdan Winiarski  Poland Judge Majorityb[7]
Milovan Zoričić  Yugoslavia Judge Majorityb
Karim Sanjabi  Iran ad hoc Judgec Majorityb
Edvard Hambro  Norway Registrar —
a Presidency for this case was assumed by the Vice President, due to nationality of President.[1]
b Opinion not recorded officially.
c Appointed by Iranian government acting under Article 31§2 of the ICJ Statute.[1]

Representatives[edit]

Judgment[edit]

On 22 July 1952, the ICJ decided that because Iran had conceded to ICJ jurisdiction only in cases involving treaties agreed upon after 1932 and as the only treaty cited by the UK after that date was between Iran and a foreign company (and not the UK itself), it had no jurisdiction in this matter (Iran's original contention).

Aftermath[edit]

Main article: Nationalization of the Iranian oil industry

Despite the outcome of the case, the British government was determined to both reclaim control of Iran's oil fields and signal to other countries that nationalization efforts would lead to retaliation.[9]: 300  Along with the United States government, it began an oil boycott against Iran as a means of cutting off petroleum profits and weakening the Iranian government.[10] The value of the rial fell by 45%.[9] Following this, the UK's intelligence service, MI6 requested assistance from the United States' newly-formed Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to overthrow Mosaddeq. What followed was a series of disruptions and eventually Mosaddeq was overthrown in a coup in August 1953. Mohammad Reza Shah returned to Iran, solidified his authority backed by the U.S., and allowed a mix of foreign companies to control pricing and production in the oil sector for another 20 years, though with some increase in domestic revenue.[9]: 300 

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Hudson, Manley O. (1953), "The Thirty-First Year of the World Court", The American Journal of International Law, 47 (1): 1–19, doi:10.2307/2194147, JSTOR 2194147
  2. ^ Elling, Rasmus (February 16, 2015). "Abadan: Oil City Dreams and the Nostalgia for Past Futures in Iran". AJAM Media Collective.
  3. ^ Mina, Parviz (July 20, 2004). "Oil Agreements In Iran". Encyclopedia Iranica.
  4. ^ Abrahamian, Ervand (2013). The Coup: 1953, the CIA, and the roots of modern U.S.-Iranian relations. New York: New Press, The. p. 110. ISBN 978-1-59558-826-5.
  5. ^ Abrahamian, Ervand (2013). The Coup: 1953, the CIA, and the roots of modern U.S.-Iranian relations. New York: New Press, The. pp. 123–125. ISBN 978-1-59558-826-5.
  6. ^ "World Court Bars Ruling on Iran Oil", The New York Times, 23 July 1952
  7. ^ Sierakowska-Dyndo, Jolanta (2019), "Polish Judge Defended the Iranian Stance (Anglo-Iranian Dispute in 1951)", Studia Litteraria Universitatis Iagellonicae Cracoviensis, 14 (Special): 231–243, doi:10.4467/20843933ST.19.037.10980
  8. ^ a b Patel, Bimal N., ed. (2002), The World Court Reference Guide: Judgments, Advisory Opinions and Orders of the Permanent Court of International Justice and the International Court of Justice (1922-2000), Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, p. 264, ISBN 9789041119070
  9. ^ a b c McKern, Bruce (1993). Transnational Corporations and the Exploitation of Natural Resources. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-415-08543-4.
  10. ^ Heiss, Mary (2004). "The International Boycott of Iranian Oil and the Anti-Mosaddeq Coup of 1953". In Gasiorowski, Mark; Byrne, Malcolm (eds.). Mohammad Mosaddeq and the 1953 Coup in Iran. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press.

External links[edit]

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