Certain Iranian Assets (Iran v. United States)

In Certain Iranian Assets (Islamic Republic of Iran v. United States of America), the InternationalCourt of Justice (ICJ) rendered its judgment on the dispute regarding the measures adopted by the United States to seize assets of the Central Bank of Iran (Bank Markazi) to compensate U.S. victims of terrorist attacks committed abroad with the alleged support of Iran. While the judgment under consideration offers much food for thought, I argue that the Court missed the opportunity to clarify the meaning of the Treaty’s “transfer of funds” clause (Article VII), a type of provision that has seldom been interpreted by international tribunals and which is also at the center of the Alleged Violations case. This comment illustrates the pivotal role of Article VII of the Treaty and the relationship it establishes with the legal framework of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).