International Commercial Agreements A Primer On Drafting Negotiating And Resolving Disputes

Well-known since its first edition for its lucid explanation of the important concepts affecting international commercial agreements in terms that a lawyer or business executive new to the field can understand and use - rather than the legal jargon of experts talking to other experts - this incomparable work provides basic, precise information on setting up and performing international trade transactions. Its focus reflects the reality of the day-to-day business of international trade, which is primarily an undertaking between two private businesses based on a contract drafted and negotiated between the two parties for performance by them with occasional third-party assistance.Reinforcing the book's concentration on the private dimensions of international trade, and more precisely on the contractual aspects of that trade, the Fourth Edition extends its coverage to the newest growing dimensions of the field, with new chapters on intellectual property, international electronic commerce, etc

Trade between nations is worth billions of dollars a year and will continue to increase with the rise in world population. But the complexities and nuances involved often make aspects of transnational contracts impenetrable. As a result, the need is stronger than ever for a one-volume text on the fundamentals of International Commercial Transactions for lawyers, businesspeople, and others involved in or considering international deals. International Commercial Agreements, now in its third edition , meets this need by providing basic, precise information on setting up and performing international trade transactions. Its popularity is a testament to its uniqueness--the bulk of work on this subject is concentrated in inaccessible, multi-volume treaties or scattered among law journal articles and assumes expertise in the arena and familiarity with the legal jargon. This book focuses on the private dimensions of international trade, and specifically on its contractual aspects. Its focus reflects the reality of the day-to-day business of international trade, which is primarily an undertaking between two private businesses based on a contract drafted and negotiated between the two contracting parties for performance by them with occasional third-party assistance. The work is organized so that the user can read or skip various topics as needed rather than having to read cover-to-cover. Coverage includes: specific guidance on drafting commercial agreements; background material on contract formation, including basic information on contract law; information on differences between international and domestic contracts; exploration of negotiation techniques and coverage of new thinking in negotiation to help smooth the negotiation process; and discussion of alternative dispute resolution issues.

Precise planning, drafting and vigorous negotiation lie at the heart of every international commercial agreement. But as the international business community moves toward the third decade of the twenty-first century, a large amount of the detail of these agreements has migrated to the Internet and has become part of electronic commerce. This incomparable one-volume work, now in its seventh edition, begins by discussing and analyzing all the basic components of international contracts regardless of whether the contracting parties are interacting face-to-face or dealing electronically at some distance from each other. The work stands alone among contract drafting guides and has proven its enduring worth. Using an established and highly practical format, the book offers precise information and analysis of a wide variety of issues and forms of agreement, as well as the various forms of international commercial dispute resolution. The seventh edition includes new and updated material on a large number of issues and concepts, such as: new developments and technical progress in electronic commerce; the use of concepts of standardization, i.e., the work of the International Organization for Standardization as a contract drafting tool; new developments in artificial intelligence in contract drafting; the use of cryptocurrencies as a payment device; expedited arbitration, early neutral evaluation and digital procedures for dispute resolution; online dispute resolution, including the phenomenon of the “robot arbitrator”; and foreign direct investment, investment law and investor-state dispute resolution. Each chapter provides numerous references to additional sources, including websites, journal articles, and texts. Materials from and citations to appropriate literature and languages other than English are included. Recognizing that business executives entering into an international commercial transaction are mainly interested in drafting and negotiating an agreement that satisfies all of the parties and that will be performed as promised, this superb guide will measurably assist any lawyer or business executive in planning and implementing contracts and resolving disputes even when that person is not interested in a full-blown understanding of the entire landscape of international contracts. Business executives who are not lawyers will find that this book gives them the understanding and perspective necessary to work effectively with legal experts.

Although negotiation still lies at the heart of international commercial agreements, much of the detail has migrated to the Internet and has become part of electronic commerce. This incomparable one-volume work??now in its sixth edition??with its deeply informed emphasis on both the face-to-face and electronic components of setting up and performing an international commercial agreement, stands alone among contract drafting guides and has proven its enduring worth. Following its established highly practical format, the book’s much-appreciated precise information on a wide variety of issues??including those pertaining to intellectual property, alternative dispute resolution, and regional differences??is of course still here in this new edition. There is new and updated material on such matters as the following: • the need for contract drafters to understand and to use the concepts of “standardization” (i.e., the work of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) as a contract drafting tool); • new developments and technical progress in e-commerce; • new developments in artificial intelligence in contract drafting; • the possible use of electronic currencies such as Bitcoin as a payment device; • foreign direct investment; • special considerations inherent in drafting licensing agreements; • online dispute resolution including the innovations referred to as the “robot” arbitrator; • changes in the arbitration rules of major international organizations; and • assessment of possible future trends in international commercial arrangements. Each chapter provides numerous references to additional sources, including a large number of websites. Materials from and citations to appropriate literature in languages other than English are also included. In its recognition that a business executive entering into an international commercial transaction is mainly interested in drafting an agreement that satisfies all of the parties and that will be performed as promised, this superb guide will immeasurably assist any lawyer or business executive to plan and carry out individual transactions even when that person is not interested in a full-blown understanding of the entire landscape of international contracts. Business executives who are not lawyers will find that this book gives them the understanding and perspective necessary to work effectively with the legal experts.

Drafting and Negotiating Commercial Contracts, Fourth Edition is the 'one-stop-shop' for practical contractual matters, making it essential reading for anyone involved in negotiating and drafting commercial contracts. Many works published on the topic of negotiating have dealt with techniques of and preparation for negotiation from a psychological standpoint, but this book contends that in the commercial world, hard commercial considerations rather than psychological warfare matter most in successfully negotiating commercial contracts. The text highlights the most important special features of selected contracts, namely payment contracts and petroleum contracts in addition to ordinary export contracts, syndicated loan agreements, international engineering and construction contracts, and issues relating to project finance and risk. One of the basic themes of this work is to remind negotiators of the changing attitudes towards the negotiation of international commercial contracts, including more awareness of bargaining powers of both parties. The Fourth Edition has been fully updated to take account of important court decisions regarding the interpretation of contracts and changes in consumer legislation. This includes commercial lawyers, contract managers, in-house lawyers, lawyers in private practice, LPC course tutors and law and business students.

The heart of every international commercial agreement lies in its provisions for dispute resolution. These crucial terms must be negotiated with meticulous attention to the circumstances under which the ensuing business relationship is expected to grow. Well planned and drafted, these clauses will allow a business agreement to weather even the most serious disputes, and foster mutual confidence and trust between the parties. International Arbitration and Forum Selection Agreements focuses on the core issue that inevitably arises in the planning of international commercial agreements: when to use forum selection clauses and when to mandate arbitration. In this enormously useful primer, Gary B. Born, an outstanding international practitioner and author of several pre-eminent works in international commercial law, leads the business lawyer expertly through the planning and drafting stages of effective forum selection and arbitration clauses. He provides: analysis of the strategic uses of each kind of clause, making it easy for the practitioner to choose which approach to take under each specific set of circumstances sample clauses with numerous variations that allow for all likely contingencies key accompanying provisions relating to costs, consent to service of process, discovery, confidentiality, waivers, interim relief, fast-track procedures, and other important considerations detailed analysis of enforcement under applicable laws, conventions, and treaties a special chapter on choice-of-law clauses (including samples) and their role in dispute resolution. A useful appendix contains texts of the New York Convention and the UNCITRAL Model Law, as well as the Arbitration Rules of the leading arbitral institutions.