Sources of Property Ownership

The Civil Code, in Article 140, provides for four sources of ownership, which are: ownership through cultivation and use of vacant land (ahya mawat); ownership through contracts and assignments; acquisition by priority rights (pre-emption);^[625] and ownership through inheritance.

The first source of ownership is known as ahya mawat. It means working and cultivating the land; this may include planting trees, producing crops, and building on the land. Fencing, even if it is not substantial building, such as marking by stones around the land, may still create some priority over the land, but does not establish any ownership interests.

Article 143 of the Iranian Constitution explicitly states that ‘anybody who cultivates (ahya) the dead land with the intention of ownership would obtain ownership of that land’. However, according to some Islamic jurists (shia), the ownership of the dead land, even after cultivation by individuals, is subject to the permission of the Imam (the leader).^[626] But according to the majority of Islamic jurists (particularly sunni jurists), cultivating or ahya of the dead land establishes the ownership of the land without the permission of the leader or the state.^[627]

The Iranian Civil Code has some relatively detailed provisions in relation to ownership of water, as Articles 146-60 are concerned with ownership of water. The Civil Code recognises private ownership of underground waters, as well as what is known in common law as riparian rights around the rivers. These provisions, in conjunction with Article 45 of the Iranian Constitution, provide that individuals can have private ownership of underground waters, rivers, canals (ghanat) and small springs and dams, as well as riparian rights over rivers. However, the state has ownership of lakes, rivers, and other waters not owned by individuals.

VII.