Disgorgement Damages; a Response to Willful Breach of Contract (Comparative Study in Common Law, Civil Law, Iran and Basis of Feqh)

Document Type : Scientific Research

Author

Ph.D. in Private Law, University of Qom, Qom, Iran.

Abstract

Disgorgement of benefits resulting from breach of contract is a severe remedy that is awarded in different legal systems in certain situations. Unlike compensatory damages, which focus on the damage caused to the promisee, this remedy is based on the interest of the party in breach and allows the promisee to claim the benefits that the breaching party obtained through breach of contract. Due to the distance of this remedy from the compensation and closer to purposes such as deterrence and punishment, its application in normal situations of breach has not been accepted. This article tries to answer the question through descriptive-analytical method and comparative study, whether willful breach of contract can justify the award of this exceptional remedy? Willful breach of contract, which is the most severe type of breach of contract, has unique effects. One of the most important effects of this legal phenomenon, which is the hypothesis of this research, is that in cases of willful breach, the court can award the disgorgement of benefits resulting from the breach due to the seriousness of the promisor's fault. Examining the regulations and jurisprudence of the studied legal systems confirms the truth of this statement. The possibility of awarding of disgorgement of benefits for intentional breaches does not seem inconsistent with our jurisprudence and legal foundations.

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