Originally from Dispute Resolution Journal

Public opinion and government policies differ from one country to another on the desirability of encouraging recourse to arbitration at the expense of the jurisdiction of local courts. Until such time, therefore, as there is a truly international system of conunercial arbitration with generally accepted arbitral clauses and awards, businessmen and their counsel will of necessity be concerned with the treatment of arbitration and problems of enforcement.

Unfortunately little is known in the United States of the Iranian law of arbitration. There are few sources of information on the subject which are not in the Persian language. This is surprising when it is recalled that the nationalization of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company involved questions concerning arbitration provisions in concession agreements, and that the later Iranian oil agreements have contained arbitration provisions of international significance. Perhaps it is this recent awakening of interest in arbitration as a necessary element in private business operations and investment projects in developing nations which best justifies a general knowledge of the local laws on the subject.