Use of World Commerce & Contracting Principles in practice by an attorney from a civil law jurisdiction

Abstract

This essay focuses on the manner in which an attorney from a civil law jurisdiction may use the World Commerce & Contracting Principles dated February 2020 (hereinafter: the WCCP) and how to get the most out of the World Commerce & Contracting Principles in the negotiation and drafting phase of a contract. This essay will outline the issues to which an attorney from a civil law country needs to pay attention to when using World Commerce & Contracting Principles and provide examples of adaptations that may be necessary when using the World Commerce & Contracting Principles as a basis for negotiating and drafting a contract. It should be noted that adjustments of the World Commerce & Contracting Principles advocated in this essay are suggested from the perspective of the author who is a practicing attorney-at-law in a civil law country. Therefore, suggestions made in this essay are by no means intended to be set in stone since the use of the World Commerce & Contracting Principles should remain flexible enough to adjust to the needs of each particular transaction. As argued in this essay, the World Commerce & Contracting Principles represent a good starting point for facilitating successful negotiations. However, these principles do not cover all issues which may arise in the negotiation or drafting phase of a contract so the parties will need to supplement the principles regarding such issues while for other issues which are covered by the principles, the parties may need to adapt the principles, depending on the circumstances of the case.