Understanding The Cisg

The 1980 United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) regulates the rights of buyers and sellers in international sales. The Convention is the first sales law treaty to win acceptance on a worldwide scale, and the impressive list of nearly one hundred Contracting States accounts for more than three-fourths of all world trade. The importance of the CISG in the international arena is underlined by thousands of reported decisions where the CISG has been held to apply, thus evidencing the conduct of countless international traders who – by default or by express choice – regularly subject their sales contracts to the Convention regime. The CISG treaty demands an international interpretation, and this extensively updated Sixth Edition draws upon the full range of primary as well as secondary sources of CISG law, including clear and concise reports of the latest decisions, arbitral awards and scholarly opinion. Numerous concrete examples are provided throughout. With this book as their guide, lawyers and students who need to understand international sales law will confidently navigate key topic areas such as these: determining when the CISG applies; freedom of contract, opting out; interpretation of CISG treaty and CISG contracts; formation, validity, defenses to enforcement; obligations of the parties; remedies for breach; liability exemptions, hardship; and disclaimers, agreed remedies.

The 1980 United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) regulates the rights of buyers and sellers in international sales. The Convention is the first sales law treaty to win acceptance on a worldwide scale, and the impressive list of some 85 CISG ‘Contracting States’ already accounts for more than three-fourths of all world trade. The importance of the CISG in the international arena is underlined by thousands of reported decisions where the CISG has been held to apply, thus evidencing the conduct of countless international traders who – by default or by express choice – regularly subject their sales contracts to the Convention. The CISG has also impacted on sales legislation at national and regional (e.g., EU) levels. The CISG treaty demands an international interpretation, and this fully updated Fifth (Worldwide) Edition draws upon the full range of primary as well as secondary sources of CISG law, including worldwide case law and scholarly opinion. Concrete examples are provided throughout. With this book as their guide, lawyers and students who need to understand international sales contracts and sales contract disputes will confidently navigate topic areas such as the following: • determining when the CISG applies; • freedom of contract under Article 6; • interpretation of the Convention and of CISG contracts; • sales contract formation, validity, defenses to enforcement; • obligations of the parties, including conforming delivery and payment; • remedies for breach, including specific performance, damages and avoidance; • liability exemptions; and • key reservations under Articles 92–96

More than 40 countries, accounting for two-thirds of all world trade, have ratified the Convention on Contracts For The International Sale of Goods (CISG). Through a comparison and contrast with domestic law, The authors explain the CISG in terms familiar to European jurists. Because the CISG treaty demands an international interpretation, The authors draw heavily upon a broad base of CISG decisions, arbitral awards and doctrine from around the world. Concrete examples are provided throughout. The English language text will help European jurists to better communicate about CISG problems across language barriers. Those in academia will also appreciate the sources drawn upon And The comparative approach of this work.

More than 60 countries, including the United States of America, have ratified the Convention on Contracts for the international Sale of Goods (CISG). Since CISG Contracting Sales account for more than two-thirds of all world trade, the Convention clearly represents a key aspect of American Commercial law. By drawing comparisons with domestic (UCC) sales law, the author explains the CISG in terms familiar to American Jurists, just as special emphasis is placed on CISG decisions rendered by U.S courts and the Article 95 reservation made by the United States. But since the CISG treaty demands an international interpretation, this expanded and fully updated Second Edition continues to draw upon the full range of CISG sources, including the increasingly numerous decisions and awards rendered by courts and arbitrators worldwide. Concrete examples and illustration are provided throughout. Five appendices offer a wealth of reference material, including the complete text of the Convention and an extensive table of cases and arbitral awards.

Earlier editions of this incomparable guide came in separate volumes for the United States, Europe, and Scandinavia, as these three areas represent significant segments of CISG practice and also notable variations in the application of the Convention. Today, however, the CISG has gained greater prominence in dozens of jurisdictions worldwide, and similarities as well as differences in how the Convention is understood and applied have become increasingly relevant for all CISG practitioners. Hence, a 'worldwide' edition, focused on the rules and case law of greatest practical importance in all Contracting States, is here provided--although this new edition continues to account for regional anomalies insofar as they impact on the interests of merchants (and their lawyers) in the real CISG world. With this book as their guide, lawyers handling international sales contracts and disputes in any jurisdiction will confidently navigate such areas of practice as the following: * determining when the CISG applies; * freedom of contract under Article 6; * interpretation and good faith; * formation, validity, defenses to enforcement; * notice of non-conformity; * damages for breach, mitigation; * Article 79 liability exemptions; * agreed remedies, disclaimers; and * key reservations under Articles 92-96. Understanding the CISG includes a representative sampling of the more than 2,000 CISG court judgements and arbitral awards that have been reported. Concrete illustrations are provided to help clarify the (sometimes complex) way CISG rules work. Five appendices offer a wealth of reference material, including the complete text of the Convention and an extensive table of cases and arbitral awards. For virtually all cases likely to invoke the CISG, this valuable book will render sterling service to practitioners anywhere, just as it will provide law students with an effective CISG learning tool. No other CISG source is at once so authoritative and so succinct.

"... there is a lack of a clear and simple exposition of the CISG for students and practitioners. That is the role of the current book, which it fills admirably. All of the issues that have been raised in the cases and the literature are considered, but without excessive detail. This is a book that will do much to make the CISG an easily understandable text for all users, student and pracitioner alike." Preface by Professor Eric E. Bergsten