Professor Yas Banifatemi was invited to deliver this year’s Berthold Goldman Lecture as part of the 2026 Session of the Arbitration Academy, on the topic of “Anglo-Iranian Oil Co. (United Kingdom v. Iran): Sovereign Vision and International Law.”
The Lecture took place on 6 July 2026 at the Cercle de l’Union Interalliée and was introduced by Marina Matousekova, who presented Professor Banifatemi and paid tribute to her distinguished career, her unwavering pursuit of excellence and her embrace of diversity. Over 230 arbitration practitioners registered to attend the debate, including arbitrators, counsel, academics and students.
During the lecture, Professor Banifatemi emphasized the significance of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Co. (United Kingdom v. Iran) case in international law; a case standing at the crossroads between customary international law governing the treatment of foreigners and modern investment treaty law.
Recounting the history of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company in Iran and its nationalization, Professor Banifatemi underlined that the Anglo-Iranian Oil Co. (United Kingdom v. Iran) case is the story of Mohammed Mossadegh, then Iran’s Prime Minister. In 1951, Mohammed Mossadegh challenged British interests and nationalized, against compensation, the Iranian oil industry by invoking a principle that would soon be enshrined in international law: a State’s permanent sovereignty over its natural resources. The United Kingdom — the home-State of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, but also its main shareholder — brought the dispute before the International Court of Justice, arguing that the nationalization of the Iranian oil industry amounted to a breach of international law.
While the International Court of Justice ultimately declined jurisdiction over the dispute, Professor Banifatemi underlined that the multiple questions that came to be argued before the International Court of Justice in the Anglo-Iranian Oil Co. (United Kingdom v. Iran) case form what we now know today as modern international investment law. Outlining the Parties’ pleadings and the decision of the International Court of Justice in the Anglo-Iranian Oil Co. (United Kingdom v. Iran) case, Professor Banifatemi presented the sheer number of issues addressed by the case, including the mechanisms for settlement of investment disputes, the indication of interim measures of protection, the distinction between contract claims and treaty claims, the legality of nationalizations, the standard of compensation in case of expropriation, and even the use of the most-favoured-nation clause in relation to jurisdiction.
In 1953, a year after the decision of the International Court of Justice, the American CIA and the British MI6 joined in a covert operation titled “Operation Ajax” to destabilise and overthrow Mohammed Mossadegh.
Professor Banifatemi underlined that the issues raised by the Anglo-Iranian Oil Co. (United Kingdom v. Iran) still resonate in today’s debates and are, to some extent, not only unresolved, but also the subject of the ongoing reform of international investment law. The increasing demand that States’ sovereignty be recognised and respected was already Mossadegh’s claim in 1951, Professor Banifatemi stressed.
Professor Banifatemi closed the 2026 Goldman Lecture with a thought-provoking argument regarding the principle of sovereignty and the role of international tribunals in the peaceful settlement of international disputes. Professor Banifatemi emphasized that the Anglo-Iranian Oil Co. (United Kingdom v. Iran) case teaches us that the International Court of Justice and international tribunals are established in the furtherance of the peaceful settlement of international disputes: respect for the rule of law — including judicial decisions — and State’s sovereignty are the foundations of any functioning international legal order.
If we turn a blind eye on the actions of those who play the magicians, we’re giving them a license to set the world on fire, Professor Banifatemi concluded.
(Report by Elise Steiner)
GAR article: “Banifatemi looks back on Anglo-Iranian Oil Company case”, Global Arbitration Review (GAR), 30 July 2026
The video of the Lecture is available below.
