state responsibility for nationalization and expropriation:a preliminary survey of the awards of the iran-united states claims tribunal

the present article deals with the issues of nationalization and expropriation in the light of iran-united states claims tribunal awards by looking at their legality and the limits on the rights of states to nationalise and expropriate, while discussing some case law. i will argue that the state’s right to nationalize foreign property is an attribute of its sovereignty and derives from territorial supremacy of the state. it is also proposed to examine the questions of state responsibility for the injurious consequences of certain wrongful acts or omissions during the revolution of 1979. the question is whether the events of the revolution and the appointment of temporary managers to administer the foreign companies’ affairs could be interpreted as constituting an expropriation and whether this measure is in full accord with international jurisprudence. the tribunal’s decisions make it clear that regardless of whether the state has obtained any value of property or not, responsibility exists whenever acts attributable to a state have deprived a foreigner of his property rights.