RAJIV GANDHI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF LAW,

PUNJAB
ROUGH DRAFT

Name:- Pushpendra Sharma

Roll no. :- 19016
Group no. 4
Subject:- PIL
Submitted To:- Sukhwinder Kaur Virk
Sub-Topic:-US Diplomatic and Consular staff in Tehran Case(US vs Iran)

INTRODUCTION

United States of America v. Islamic Republic of Iran (also called the Case Concerning United
States Diplomatic and Consular Staff in Tehran) is a public international law case (issued in
two decisions) brought to the International Court of Justice by the United States of America
against Iran in response to the Iran hostage crisis, where United States diplomatic offices and
personnel were seized by militant revolutionaries.

FACTS

On 4 November 1979 there was an armed attack by Iranian students on the United States
Embassy in Tehran and they overtook it. The students, belonging to the Muslim Student
Followers of the Imam's Line, did this as an act of support to the Iranian Revolution. More
than sixty American diplomats and citizens were held hostage for 444 days (until January 20,
1981). Some of the hostages were released earlier, but 52 hostages were held hostage until
the end. Although Iran had promised protection to the U.S. Embassy, the guards disappeared
during the takeover and the government of Iran did not attempt to stop it or rescue the
hostages. The U.S. arranged to meet with Iranian authorities to discuss the release of the
hostages, but Ayatollah Khomeini (the leader of the Iranian Revolution) forbade officials to
meet them. The U.S. ceased relations with Iran, stopped U.S. exports, oil imports, and Iranian
assets were blocked.
 PROCEEDINGS

In this part I will discuss in short all the proceedings of the case that happened in ICJ. It
doesn’t mean that I will discuss the minutes of proceedings but a brief summary of that. It
may include some evidences given by advocates of both the parties as well as some strong
and relevant arguments made by them.

JUDGMENT

The first decision was an Order of Provisional Measures, issued December 15, 1979. This
was the court issuing an opinion not on the merits underlying the case specifically, but rather
ordering a preservation of the respective rights and obligations the two countries owed one
another pending the final decision of the court.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

In this part I will critically analyse the case and comment on its each part. In this I will also
elaborate the treatise that are used in this along with international laws.