The Cisg And Its Impact On National Legal Systems

In force in 70 countries around the world and covering more than two thirds of world trade, the 1980 United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) is considered to be the most successful convention promoting international trade. According to many commentators, this success is due, among others, to the fact that the Convention does not directly impact on the domestic law of the various legal systems, as it applies only to international - as opposed to purely domestic - contracts. The Convention, in other words, does not impose changes in the domestic law, which makes it easier for States to adopt the Convention. This does not mean, however, that the Convention does not have any impact on the domestic law at all. This book analyzes - through 24 country reports as well as a general report submitted to the 1st Intermediate Congress of the International Academy of Comparative Law held in November 2008 in Mexico City - to what extent the Convention de facto influences domestic legal systems. In particular, the book examines the Convention's impact on the practice of law, the style of court decisions as well as the domestic legislation in the area of contract law.

EU Private Law and the CISG examines selected EU directives in the field of private law and their effects on the national private law systems of several EU Member States and discusses certain specific concepts of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) in light of the CISG’s recent fortieth anniversary. The most prominent influence of EU law on national private law systems is in the area of the law of obligations, thus the book focuses on several EU private law directives that cover the issues belonging to contract and tort law, as interpreted in the case law of the Court of Justice of the EU. EU private law concepts need to be interpreted autonomously and uniformly rather than through the lens of national private law systems. The same is true for the CISG which has not only been one of the most successful instruments of the international trade law unification but had also influenced both the EU private law and domestic laws. In Part I, focused on the EU private law and its effects for national laws, chapters examine the recent Digital Content and Services Directive and its likely impact on the contract law of the UK and Ireland, the role aggressive commercial practices play in EU banking and credit legislation, the applicability of the EU private international law rules to collective redress, the unfair contract terms regime of the Late Payment Directive and its transposition into Croatian law, the implementation of the Commercial Agency Directive in Denmark, Estonia and Germany, and disgorgement of profits as remedy provided in the Trade Secrets Directive. In Part II, dealing with selected CISG issues, chapters discuss the autonomous interpretation of CISG’s concept of sale by auction and its notion of intellectual property, as well as the CISG’s principle of freedom of form and the possibility for reservations with the effect of its exclusion. The book will be of interest to legal scholars in the field of EU private law and international trade law, as well as to the students, practitioners, members of law reform bodies, and civil servants in Europe, and beyond.

The CISG is now being applied extensively both by international arbitral tribunals and by domestic courts of its more than 70 contracting states. But do they also apply it in the same manner? Although Article 7 of the CISG underscores "the need to promote uniformity in its application", it gives little guidance as to how to achieve this goal. Each judge and arbitrator is influenced by the legal methodology of his home jurisdiction. Therefore it is somewhat of a paradox that whilst the number of contracting states is constantly increasing so too is the threat of variation in application. In this book the most important issues of the CISG's methodology are analysed by leading experts from five continents. Whereas some authors provide a thorough analysis of the central topics of interpretation, others enter almost uncharted territories.

Seminar paper from the year 2015 in the subject Law - European and International Law, Intellectual Properties, grade: 1,3, Maastricht University, course: International Commercial Law, language: English, abstract: One of the main constraints on cross-border commerce has always been diverging national legal regimes. With the emergence of globalization starting in the last century it became evident that there is a need to approximate the existing rules to foster international trade. In theory, this should allow all participating actors to benefit more than ever leading in the long run to greater wealth for everyone. In 1980, 42 countries agreed on the CISG to address hindrances to the growing international trade by adopting a default uniform international framework for the sales of goods. The preamble specifies that “the adoption of uniform rules which govern contracts for the international sale of goods and take into account the different social, economic and legal systems would contribute to the removal of legal barriers in international trade and promote the development of international trade”. At the time of writing, the CISG has been in force for 27 years and it is time to evaluate whether the goals the drafters had in mind have been achieved. In order to assess the successfulness of the CISG to promote a unified international sales law a multitude of factors can be taken into account. To not unduly exceed the limits of this paper the author determined three key criteria on whose basis the successfulness will be evaluated. Firstly, the acceptance of the CISG in the international community will be evaluated. Secondly, the influence of the CISG on subsequent international, regional and domestic legislation and initiatives relating to sales and contract law will be addressed. Lastly, after determining the scope of application the paper focuses on the CISG’s capacity to safeguard and foster its uniform application.

The unification of international commercial law has been a common course for every country of the world. The U.N. Convention on Contracts for International Sale of Goods (CISG) is a milestone in creating a uniform law in the field of the international sale of goods. The CISG coordinated divergent political, economic, and legal systems combined different contract laws and set up a comprehensive and independent legal framework for the international sale of goods. This book examines the basic requirements and criteria of the CISG’s interpretation and investigates how to achieve the uniform interpretation of the CISG based on interpretation rules in the CISG and through appropriate legal interpretation approaches. As a comprehensive and uniform legal framework for the international sale of goods, the CISG still has gaps to fill. Therefore, a uniform interpretation in gap-filling is equally important for the CISG. This book discusses gap-filling in the CISG, explains why and how to fill its gaps, clarifies gap-filling approaches, their order of application, and eventually concentrates on general principles and the uniform interpretation of the CISG. Another feature of the book is to discuss the supplementary materials that could be used to assist in the uniform interpretation of the CISG. PICC, foreign cases, UNCITRAL Digest, and the CISG Advisory Council opinions will be examined in detail to see whether and how they can fill the gaps in the CISG and promote its uniform interpretation. Only by clarifying the basic requirements and principles relating to the CISG’s uniform interpretation, can courts and arbitral tribunals correct their attitude toward and practices in the interpretation of the CISG. Only by following the autonomous interpretation approach, can the CISG achieve its goal to unify the sale of goods laws and promote the development of international commerce.

This book brings together the top international sales law scholars from twenty-three countries to review the Convention on Contracts for International Sale of Goods (CISG) and its role in the unification of global sales law. It reviews the substance of CISG rules and analyzes alternative interpretations. A comparative analysis is given of how countries have accepted, interpreted, and applied the CISG. Theoretical insights are offered into the problems of uniform laws, the CISG's role in bridging the gap between the common and civil legal traditions, and the debate over good faith in CISG jurisprudence. The book reviews case law relating to the interpretation and application of the provisions of the CISG; analyzes how it has been recognized and implemented by national courts and arbitral tribunals; offers insights into problems of uniformity of application of an international sales convention; compares the CISG with the English Sale of Goods Act and places it in the context of other texts of UNCITRAL; and analyzes the CISG from the practitioner's perspective.

"Collection of essays on the Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG)"--Foreword.

Contracts are relevant, frequently central, for a significant number of investment disputes. Yet, the way tribunals ascertain their content remains largely underexplored. How do tribunals interpret contracts in investment treaty arbitration? How should they interpret contracts? Does national law have any role to play? Contract Interpretation in Investment Treaty Arbitration: A Theory of the Incidental Issue addresses these questions. The monograph offers a valuable insight into the practice and theory of contract interpretation in investment treaty arbitration. By proposing a theoretical frame for seamless integration of contract interpretation into the overall structure of decision-making, the book contributes to predictability, coherence, sufficiency and correctness of the tribunals’ interpretative practices in investment treaty arbitration.