The UNIDROIT Principles As a Tool for Interpretation of Israeli Contract Law

Abstract

One of the goals of the Unidroit Principles of International Commercial Contract Law is to serve as a model law for national law. The article proposes a broad interpretation of the idea of “model law”. Assuming a functionalist approach, the article deals with a gamut of topics showing similarities and differences between the PICC and Israeli law. The article explains how Israeli contract law, particularly due to the fact that it is based on different legal traditions, may serve as a laboratory to see to what extent the ideas accepted by the PICC receive expression in national laws. The comparison will show once more, that the PICC are a relevant work for harmonization and that, due to their quality and flexibility, they may serve to achieve better national contract law without impeding any particular policy.