The Uniform Law on International Sale of Goods: A Constructive Critique

Abstract

In no other major branch of is there more uniformity among the principal legal systems of the world than in the of international sales. Contract relating to documentary transactions, the of carriage of goods by sea, rail, and air, the of marine insurance, and the of bank credits and acceptances, are basically the same in their general character-so far as international sales are concerned-in the so-called and civil systems as well as in the legal systems of the centrally planned economies of the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and China. The reasons for this are not hard to find. On the one hand, the merchants, carriers, underwriters, and bankers of the world who engage in international sales transactions have had centuries of experience in establishing common practices and common norms. Moreover, they continually renew their common traditions through negotiation of contracts, through arbitration of disputes, and through the establishment of rules by trade associations. On the other hand, lawyers and lawmakers of many countries have also responded, over the centuries, to the need for uniformity in the of international sales, and have helped to develop such universal legal institutions as the c.i.f. contract, the bill of lading, the marine insurance policy and certificate, the bill of exchange and letter of credit. Commercial codes of France, Germany, Italy, the Scandinavian countries, the United States, and other countries, and general commercial statutes like the British Sale of Goods Act, are themselves based partly upon the international law merchant, and national courts have received international commercial through the application of such codes and statutes as well as through interpretation of international sales contracts. Uniformity has also been bolstered by international conventions such as the Brussels Convention on Carriage of Goods by Sea and others, as well as by rules adopted at international conferences, such as the I932 WarsawOxford Rules for CIF Contracts, and by comprehensive contract conditions worked out for various types of exports by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. Finally, state trading agencies of all countries, including countries of centrally planned economy, have to a large extent adapted themselves to traditional international commercial-law institutions; indeed, even in trade with each other, the countries of centrally planned economy employ contract techniques and contract