Article 265 of the Iranian Civil Code provides: “Whoever gives property to another is presumed not to have intended a gratuitous transfer; therefore, if a person gives something to another without being indebted for it, he may reclaim it.” The principle of non-gratuitousness, as one of the legal presumptions recognized in the Iranian legal system, is rooted in Islamic jurisprudential principles and plays an important role in determining the legal status of payments made between individuals. Nevertheless, there is considerable disagreement among Islamic jurists and legal scholars concerning the rationale and interpretation of this provision. A significant part of this disagreement arises from differing interpretations of the opening part of Article 265. Some scholars regard the phrase “is presumed not to have intended a gratuitous transfer” as indicating that the payer is not necessarily indebted and, relying on the presumption of non-liability, place the burden of proving entitlement to the payment on the recipient. In contrast, others, by interpreting the opening and concluding parts of the provision together and emphasizing the phrase “if he is not indebted for it, he may reclaim it,” regard the existence of a debt and the payer’s indebtedness as the presumptive position and consider recovery of the property conditional upon establishing the absence of an underlying obligation.

The present article critically examines the jurisprudential and legal perspectives on this issue and considers the latter interpretation to be more consistent with the structure and functions of the Iranian legal system.