Volume 20, Issue 61 (4-2026)
MLJ 2026, 20(61): 649-659 |
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Khorshid Kordlar H, Rostamzad H, Javid E. Examining the Human Rights Dimensions of Herbal Medicine Trade and the Possibility of Expropriation from the Perspective of
International Investment Law. MLJ 2026; 20 (61) :649-659
URL: http://ijmedicallaw.ir/article-1-2087-en.html
URL: http://ijmedicallaw.ir/article-1-2087-en.html
1- Department of Law, Mar.C, Islamic Azad University, Maragheh, Iran.
2- Department of Law, CT.C, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
2- Department of Law, CT.C, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract:
Background and Aim: Following the enactment of the Law on the Structure of the Ministry of Health in 1988, the legislature entrusted the Ministry of Health with responsibility for licensing and conducting research on medicines, expressly referring to both herbal and chemical medicines. At the international level, trade in medicines is generally subject to health-related regulatory oversight, while in the People’s Republic of China, governmental intervention in the corporate structure of pharmaceutical companies is reportedly limited to chemical medicines. In Iran, however, the Ministry of Health has treated companies engaged in the processing of herbal medicines in the same manner as other pharmaceutical companies. This study examines the legal legitimacy of such administrative action.
Method: This descriptive-analytical study examines the legitimacy and scope of the regulatory powers of the Ministry of Health in matters relating to the processing of herbal medicines.
Ethical Considerations: Throughout all stages of the research and manuscript preparation, established research ethics and principles of academic integrity were observed.
Results: The regulatory authority of the Ministry of Health to license the manufacture of medicines containing chemical substances is legitimate and may, where legally authorized, affect the organizational structure of the manufacturing company. However, such authority should not be extended to companies engaged in the processing of herbal medicines, where the regulatory competence of the Ministry of Health should be limited to health and safety oversight. Requirements imposed on the corporate governance structure of such companies are inconsistent with the principles governing international trade and, more broadly, may undermine incentives for investment in this sector. Moreover, the processing of herbal medicines in the absence of chemical compounds constitutes, in substance, a formal rather than a substantive process.
Conclusion: By extending its regulatory powers to the processing of herbal medicines, the Ministry of Health has adopted an administratively erroneous approach. In the absence of a specialized public-law court and effective intervention by higher administrative authorities, this practice has continued. It is therefore necessary for the Council of Ministers, through an appropriate coordination process, to adopt a definitive position on this matter in order to minimize the inconsistency between the administrative measures of the Ministry of Health, the Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Act, and the Commercial Code. Such clarification would bring the regulatory framework more closely into conformity with international trade and investment law, enhance the legal predictability of investment in this sector, and thereby contribute to economic development.
Please cite this article as:
Khorshid Kordlar H, Rostamzad H, Javid E. Examining the Human Rights Dimensions of Herbal Medicine Trade and the Possibility of Expropriation from the Perspective of International Investment Law. Medical Law Journal. 2026; 20: e42.
Method: This descriptive-analytical study examines the legitimacy and scope of the regulatory powers of the Ministry of Health in matters relating to the processing of herbal medicines.
Ethical Considerations: Throughout all stages of the research and manuscript preparation, established research ethics and principles of academic integrity were observed.
Results: The regulatory authority of the Ministry of Health to license the manufacture of medicines containing chemical substances is legitimate and may, where legally authorized, affect the organizational structure of the manufacturing company. However, such authority should not be extended to companies engaged in the processing of herbal medicines, where the regulatory competence of the Ministry of Health should be limited to health and safety oversight. Requirements imposed on the corporate governance structure of such companies are inconsistent with the principles governing international trade and, more broadly, may undermine incentives for investment in this sector. Moreover, the processing of herbal medicines in the absence of chemical compounds constitutes, in substance, a formal rather than a substantive process.
Conclusion: By extending its regulatory powers to the processing of herbal medicines, the Ministry of Health has adopted an administratively erroneous approach. In the absence of a specialized public-law court and effective intervention by higher administrative authorities, this practice has continued. It is therefore necessary for the Council of Ministers, through an appropriate coordination process, to adopt a definitive position on this matter in order to minimize the inconsistency between the administrative measures of the Ministry of Health, the Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Act, and the Commercial Code. Such clarification would bring the regulatory framework more closely into conformity with international trade and investment law, enhance the legal predictability of investment in this sector, and thereby contribute to economic development.
Please cite this article as:
Khorshid Kordlar H, Rostamzad H, Javid E. Examining the Human Rights Dimensions of Herbal Medicine Trade and the Possibility of Expropriation from the Perspective of International Investment Law. Medical Law Journal. 2026; 20: e42.
Keywords: Confiscation, Ministry of Health, Pharmaceutical Processing, Human Rights, International Investment Law
Type of Study: Original Article |
Received: 2026/04/10 | Accepted: 2026/06/21
Received: 2026/04/10 | Accepted: 2026/06/21
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