Analysis of the Burden of Proof in Ownership and endowment (vaqf ) Disputes: A Note on Supreme Court Judgment No. 9509970909100146, Dated 12 June 2016

Pilvar, Rahim; Hadi, Reza

Analysis of the Burden of Proof in Ownership and endowment (vaqf ) Disputes: A Note on Supreme Court Judgment No. 9509970909100146, Dated 12 June 2016

Document Type : Analysis & Critics on Jurisprudence

Authors

Rahim Pilvar ¹

Reza Hadi ²

¹ Associate professor of Private Law Faculty of Law Farabi College University of Tehran

² LLM. in Registration Law, Faculty of Law, College of Farabi, university of Tehran, Iran

Abstract

In disputes concerning ownership and endowment (vaqf) status, where no official deed of ownership or endowment is available, determining which party bears the burden of proof depends on the property's prior legal status. If a property was previously privately owned and a party subsequently claims that it is endowed, the burden of proof rests on the party asserting the endowment. Conversely, where the property's prior endowment status has been established, the party claiming subsequent private ownership must prove ownership. However, disagreement remains as to whether the presumption of ownership arising from the current possessor's possession prevails over the property's prior endowment status. Other factual scenarios may also arise. In the case under review, the possession exercised by the private owner and the endowment institution appears to have coexisted in parallel. In Judgment No. 95099709091001246, dated 12 June 2016, the Third Branch of the Supreme Court of Iran correctly identified deficiencies in the investigations conducted by the lower courts, quashed the judgment under appeal, and deemed it necessary to examine registration records, endowment records, records held by the Agricultural Jihad authorities, and other relevant indicia in order to reach a proper decision.

Keywords

Endowment (vaqf)

Ownership

Presumption of Possession

Termination of Endowment Status

Property'

s Legal History

Subjects