A comparative study of the civil liability of manufacturers of prefabricated parts and raw materials in assembled goods in the American and Iranian legal systems

Abstract

Assembled goods are goods that are made by assembling prefabricated parts. If damage is caused by the assembled product, the injured party usually files a lawsuit against the manufacturer of the final product due to easier access. The defendant may argue that he relied on actions or omissions of component manufacturers or raw material suppliers to exemption from liability in this research, we answer the question that on which basis is the producer of the part is responsible to the injured party? In order to answer this question, the legal system of the United States has been studied first, and by extracting the model of this legal system based on the judicial procedure, the issue has been discussed in Iran legal system. Finally, it was concluded that in the American legal system, the general principle is that if the manufactured part is non-defective before distribution, the part manufacturer is not responsible. However, in exceptional cases, the component maker is responsible for compensation to the injured party, and for these cases, four models have been followed by the courts of this country. In Iran's legal system, inspired by the model obtained from the American legal system, the manufacturer of the part is responsible in case the component is defective and there is a certain causal relationship between the defect and the occurrence of damage, in contrast in cases of design defects and or issuance of warning by the component manufacturer, the responsibility of the part manufacturer is assumed.

Keywords

• assembled good. manufacturing defects. component manufacturer's responsibility. causation relationship. compensation for damages.