Advanced Journal of Management, Humanity and Social Science

Unilateral Sanctions and Contracts for the Supply of Medicines and Medical Equipment: Challenges of Force Majeure and International Commercial Arbitration with a Comparative Study of Iran and Russia

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Bahareh Soodi

Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.), Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

10.5281/zenodo.23563749
Abstract
Access to medicine is a natural right of every human being. Unilateral sanctions have become one of the most significant factors disrupting the implementation of international contracts for the supply of medicine and medical equipment in sanctioned countries. Although medicine and medical equipment are exempt from many sanctions' regimes under humanitarian exemptions, banking, insurance, and transportation restrictions have seriously hampered the practical execution of these contracts. The present study aims to examine unilateral sanctions and contracts for the supply of medicine and medical equipment, focusing on the challenges of force majeure and international commercial arbitration. This research conducted using a descriptive-analytical method with a comparative-legal approach, based on a documentary study. Research data were collected and analyzed from the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG), the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts, the rules of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the New York Convention of 1958, reports from international institutions, and the specialized literature on commercial arbitration. The findings of the study indicate that unilateral sanctions alone are not sufficient to establish force majeure, and proving such a claim requires demonstrating three conditions: being beyond control, foreseeability, and unavoidability. A comparative study of Iran and Russia showed that in concluded contracts, the element of foreseeability is easier to establish in Russian cases, whereas in Iran, due to the long history of sanctions, arbitrators place greater emphasis on proving the ineffectiveness of humanitarian exemptions. The results indicate that although choosing arbitration and transnational rules can provide greater impartiality in dispute resolution, banking restrictions, fund transfers, and recourse to public policy continue to render the enforcement of arbitral awards difficult.

Graphical Abstract

Unilateral Sanctions and Contracts for the Supply of Medicines and Medical Equipment: Challenges of Force Majeure and International Commercial Arbitration with a Comparative Study of Iran and Russia

Keywords

Unilateral Sanctions
Force Majeure
International Commercial Arbitration
Pharmaceutical Supply
Medical Equipment
Iran
Subjects
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Advanced Journal of Management, Humanity and Social Science
Volume 2, Issue 5
September and October 2026
Pages 443-453

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