Capitulation

Capitulation is derived from the French word capitulate, which means “classified and ordered treaty.” In ancient Rome, capitulation referred to covenants, the enforcement of which was guaranteed by the emperors through taking an oath before their

coronation. These treaties described the rights, privileges, and the scope of powers of the emperors.

Today, capitulation refers to covenants based on which the foreigners would enjoy certain rights and privileges. The roots of these privileges lie in the privileges which the Ottoman government conferred on European citizens after the conquest of Constantinople in the 15^th century. These freedoms and rights were approved through the Franco-Ottoman alliance signed between François I, the King of France from 1515-1547, and Süleyman the Magnificent, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1520-1566. As a result of this treaty, which was later supplemented by other sultans, the French succeeded in making the Ottoman government accept relinquishing jurisdiction over the French citizens and instead referring them to the special courts set up by the French within the Ottoman Empire for this purpose. Since then, the word capitulation has commonly used with the French pronunciation, referring to a situation when special rights and judicial immunities are granted to foreigners residing in other

countries.

In Iran, no capitulation treaty had been signed between foreign governments and the central governments of Iran until the conclusion of the Treaty of Turkmenchay between Iran and the Russian Empire in 1828. Of course, before this date, foreigners used to travel to Iran. In some cases, they succeeded in persuading the kings of Iran at that time to give them freedoms and immunities.

Due to its special geographical situation, Iran has always been of interest to foreigners, and especially its importance has increased tremendously since the 17th century. The foreigners who used to come to Iran were British, French, Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese. Being more concerned with establishing trade relations at the time, these countries shifted their focus towards the East in general and Iran in particular which was the route to Europe and Asia in an attempt to gain more profit and find a trade market. 

According to the available evidence, the British and French were able to persuade the shahs of Iran to give orders which served their interests. For example, the privileges that the Shirley brothers received from Shah Abbas in 1600 CE and hence could guarantee their lives, property, religion, and free movement to Iran, or the customs exemptions that the French were able to get through an official request made by the French ambassador to Shah Abbas in 1626.

The origin of capitulation in Iran is the Treaty of Turkmenchay which was signed on February 10, 1828. The seventh, eighth, and ninth articles of this treaty, which dealt with the legal and penal matters of Russian nationals in Iran, were the most important parts of it. Because with the implementation of these articles, the capitulation would practically be established in Iran in favour of the Russian Empire. The Treaty of Turkmenchay prompted other governments to demand a regime of capitulation in favour of their citizens in Iran. The difference is that some governments succeeded in concluding treaties with Iran and openly using a regime of capitulation in this country whereas others were satisfied with mentioning the term “most favoured nation” in their agreements with Iran to use it later on to enjoy the benefits and privileges of capitulation.

Establishing a system of capitulation in Iran would be very expensive for the Iranian government and people. Because it would pave the way for the interference of foreigners in all national, economic, social, financial, judicial, and political affairs of our country. In other words, Capitulation was a violation of the country’s independence. In 1921, one day before the joint coup mounted by Reza Khan Pahlavi and Sayyed Ziaoddin Tabatabai, the Soviet government unilaterally abolished capitulation as the colonial institution of the tsars whereas the Treaty of Capitulation signed with the tsars in 1828 was valid for 99 years.

For this reason, at the end of this period, on May 10, 1927, Reza Shah announced the abolition of capitulation in Iran. This proclamation was published one year after Reza Shah’s coronation, and one year after its publication, all treaties and agreements that had granted privileges to foreign governments during the Qajar period were annulled. Nevertheless, messages were sent by the new Ministry of Foreign Affairs to some European embassies, including the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, etc., in which it was stated that the special rights and political, economic and judicial privileges of their respective countries are still respected and guaranteed. These letters and agreements issued at the request of the ministers of some European countries to preserve the judicial freedoms of their citizens in Iran showed that Reza Khan had announced the abolition of capitulation merely to pretend that he is against colonialism by the means of the press and mass media and he never sought to pursue a true struggle against this oppressive colonial phenomenon.

In addition, greater steps were taken to revive this phenomenon in Iran during the reign of his son.

Qavam al-Saltaneh brought the Americans to Iran after World War II and granted them judicial and security privileges. In 1942, when Qavam al-Saltaneh was the prime minister, the first group of American troops entered Iran under the title of “Military Mission” while enjoying judicial immunity. Likewise, during Prime Minister Ali Soheyli’s administration, other contracts were signed to recruit American advisers under the pretext of reforming the military administration, each of which granted special privileges to families of US military forces. But granting privileges peaked when Hasan Ali Mansour and Amir-Asadollah Alam were prime ministers.

The Capitulation Bill was introduced in the parliament after the intended referendum of the Shah had been held and the State and Provincial Associations Act was approved, both of which were opposed by Imam Khomeyni. Removing the legal obstacles to the presence of American forces and ensuring their comprehensive security in Iran was of great importance to the Shah. The Americans, who were the Shah’s guides to these developments, sought to preserve his regime, and Shah saw his survival in submitting to these reforms. In such circumstances, Iran’s government decided to grant some privileges to Americans including reviving Capitulation in an attempt to grant political and consular immunity to American citizens. In March 1962, the American embassy asked the administration of Ali Amini to approve the Capitulation Bill, but Amini, being aware of the consequences of such a privilege, did not pursue its enactment. However, this proposal was pursued in the next cabinet headed by Amir-Asadollah Alam and it was approved on October 5, 1963, and August 1964 in the Cabinet and the Senate respectively. Then, on October 13, 1964, during the administration of Hasan-Ali Mansour, it was approved by the National Assembly.

Following this resolution, on October 26, 1964, Imam Khomeyni strongly criticized the regime’s action in approving this bill. Before Imam Khomeyni’s speech, the Shah sent a representative to Qom to prevent him from giving a speech but Imam Khomeyni refused to meet with the Shah’s representative and, on that day, he delivered one of his most important speeches before a large number of clerics and the people of Qom. The speech was a condemnation of the American administration for its illegal interference in Iran.

In his speech, which began with a Quranic verse, Imam Khomeyni stated:

“Our honour has been trampled underfoot; the dignity of Iran has been destroyed. The dignity of the Iranian army has been trampled underfoot! They have taken a law to the parliament according to which first of all we are to accede to the Vienna Convention, and secondly, we have, to add a provision that all American military advisers, together with their families, technical and administrative officials, and servants — in short, anyone in any way connected to them — are to enjoy legal immunity concerning any crime they may commit in Iran! Gentlemen, I warn you of danger! Iranian army, I warn you of danger! Iranian politicians, I warn you of danger!... By God, he who does not cry out in protest is a sinner! By God, he who does not express his outrage commits a major sin! Leaders of Islam, come to the aid of Islam! scholars‟ of Najaf, come to the aid of Islam! scholars of Qom, come to the aid of Islam!”

In the same speech, Imam Khomeyni uttered his famous sentences that “the United States is worse than the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom is worse than the United States and the Soviet Union is worse than both of them.

Each one is worse than the other; each one is more abominable than the other. But today we are concerned with this malicious entity which is the United States. Let the American President know that in the eyes of the Iranian nation, he is the most repulsive member of the human race today… All our troubles today are caused by the United States. All our troubles today are caused by Israel. Israel itself derives from the United States.”

Moreover, Imam Khomeyni issued a statement on the same day and insisted that:

“The whole world should know that all of the problems of the Iranian nation and other nations are caused by foreigners; by the United States. The Muslim nations hate foreigners in general and the United States in particular.”

In this statement, Capitulation is described as the “document of slavery of the Iranian nation.” 

Finally, the Capitulation Bill was officially abolished by the Islamic Republic of Iran after the triumph of the Islamic Revolution on May 13, 1979.

In the statement announced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it was stated that: on May 13, 1979, at the proposal of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Interim Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the approval of the Council of Islamic Revolution, the law which granted immunities and exemptions stated in the Vienna Agreement (Capitulation) to the American military advisers in Iran and had been approved on October 13, 1964, is repealed.

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