International Uniform Law Research Articles

On the judicial application of United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods in China

Under the background of economic globalization and the increasing and in-depth trade among countries, the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG), which was implemented in 1988, has become the most important international uniform law to regulate international trade conflicts. In recent years, with the continuous improvement of globalization, CISG has been widely applied in the judicial practice of various countries. But as a result of the treaty is a compromise between different countries, the adjustment principle, causes in the judicial practice there are some limitations. This situation means that although the Treaty is applicable to many countries, each country may have different standards and interpretations. Although China is a party to the CISG, it was only after China became the world's second largest economy that the convention really received attention in academia. But the new civil code of the international treaty to make no rules. Although the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Cases concerning International Sale of Goods issued by the Supreme People's Court in 1987 can be applied in judicial practice, the lack of specific provisions has led to different judgments by different courts and arbitration bodies. The Supreme People's Court on the international sale of goods cases to explain some issues of applicable law in the regulation of content is extremely limited, unable to cope with the complexity of case treatment, there is no specific steps to perform the convention provides guidance. Against this background, this article discusses the judicial application of the CISG in China, and offers suggestions and recommendations based on the study of the Convention and its practical application.

A new paradigm for international uniform substantive law conventions

Abstract This paper posits that a paradigm shift has taken place in respect of the way the relationship between private international law and international uniform law conventions is understood. The author shows that recent international uniform law conventions evidence that their drafters do not consider the relationship to be an antagonistic one, but rather one of symbiosis.

Change of Circumstances and Force Majeure Clauses in Serbian Legal System and Sources of International Uniform Law

Abstract The effects of globalisation are many. One of them is the effect that globalisation has on commercial contracts and contractual relations between contracting parties. Due to a fast pace of economy and the speed and volume of the conclusion of contracts in international trade, participants must rely on stable and reliable legal framework for contractual obligations. In globalised economy, traders from different countries bring with them individual trade practices and norms of national legislation, often diametrically opposed, and sometimes the legal institutes that are regulated in one country don’t even exist in another. This is the case with the institutes of force majeure and a change of circumstances. Due to large differences in the regulation of these two institutes in national legal systems, there have been demonstrated some attempts of standardisation and creation of a unified system of exemption from liability for non-performance, due to force majeure or a change of circumstances. This problem becomes even more evident when dealing with the long term contracts, which are prone to the effects of unforeseen circumstances. This paper aims to explore the nature of the above mentioned legal institutes in some of the most important sources of international commercial law. With a special attention paid to the Serbian regulatory solutions, in order to further understand the similarities and differences between the national legal systems and sources of international law. The first part of the paper deals with applicable legal framework in Republic of Serbia, concerning force majeure and a change of circumstances. The second part of the paper deals with the international sources of commercial law, such as UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods of 1980; UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts; Principles of European Contract Law; Draft Common Frame of Reference; and Common European Sales Law.

Object and Purpose in International Uniform Law Conventions

Object and purpose of an international treaty appear frequently as word pair in the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT) where the word pair is often understood to form a fixed expression with an interchangeable meaning of the two words. Most relevant for questions of interpretation of uniform law conventions in general is Art. 31 VCLT . The author submits that object has a separate meaning from purpose and that the object of a treaty in particular can be used as a powerful tool for the interpretation and justification of uniform law. An outline of the intricate interplay between the notion of contract and treaty interpretation is given and the meaning of both terms analysed in detail. The use of object and purpose can open up new avenues for putting the existing codified uniform law to best use as well as developing guidelines for future legislation.

Canadian courts and uniform interpretation: an empirical reality check

The uniform interpretation of uniform law instruments is justifiably a preoccupation of the international uniform law community. However, despite the issue’s importance to the success of legal harmonisation efforts, remarkably little is known about how national courts actually interpret international uniform laws. The literature remains almost entirely anecdotal; no systematic study has been made of the courts of even one state or region to determine whether, as a group, they do or do not interpret international uniform law instruments with an eye to the international legal context. This article describes an empirical study of Canadian courts’ interpretations of five representative international uniform law instruments implemented in Canada. In particular, it describes the extent to which which Canadian courts engage with foreign sources in order to reach internationally uniform interpretations. According to the data collected, Canadian courts do not appear to be hostile to foreign sources when interpreting statutes based on international uniform laws, but neither do they take the initiative to consider foreign sources or otherwise seek internationally uniform interpretations. The traditional determinants of judicial interpretations of domestic statutes (the text and subject-matter of the statue and the character of high-level domestic precedents) continue to predominate. In other words, efforts to promote uniform interpretation of international uniform laws appear have had little effect, at least below the level of the Supreme Court of Canada. The article concludes by discussing the implications of this study for the promotion of uniform interpretation in national courts.

Unification of Private Law in Europe and ‘Mixed Jurisdictions’: A Model for Civil Codes in Central Europe

The paper discusses new research questions that hybridization of continental private law yields for comparative private law. In this context the mixed legal systems and especially the Quebec law will be debated in their possible tool-function to assist Europe in coping with recent developments in private law. Two central driving forces on the European regulatory policy landscape are in the focus of the research: i) the regulatory competition among mixed jurisdictions (Scott Law v. Quebec Law) as sources of inspiration for the new Civil Codes of the Member States and the academic projects on unification of private law (DCFR), a process which demands for reconsideration of the relation between the top down unification v. bottom up hybridization and, ii) the regulatory competition between the European regulatory policy and globalization of private law in the Member States under international uniform transaction law.

From Acorn to Oak Tree: the Development of the Cape Town Convention and Protocols

The preparation of any international uniform law is a long and arduous business. The Cape Town project began as a relatively modest venture on a proposal made in June 1988 by Mr T.B. Smith QC, the Canadian member of the UNIDROIT Governing Council, to build on the UNIDROIT Convention on International Financial Leasing, which had been adopted the same year, and prepare an instrument focused on mobile equipment but otherwise broader in scope than the Leasing Convention. The new instrument would deal with security interests in mobile equipment, covering not only security in the traditional sense but also the interests of conditional sellers and lessors. Now experience over the years has shown the vital importance of establishing three key factors before embarking on a project of uniform law. First, is there a problem? That may seem an obvious question but I can recall the time when UNIDROIT was very much influenced by academics – which, of course, is an excellent thing, there can never be too many academics – and the Governing Council had on its work programme a large range of projects most of which had appeared in the programme because a member of the Governing Council had had a bright idea! The existence of a problem was assumed to arise simply from differences in national laws. That rather happygo-lucky approach was long ago abandoned, and the Governing Council will

Another Step Towards Harmonization in EU Contract Law: The Common European Sales Law

A Common European Contract Law has been in the pipeline for some time now and recently, another step in that direction was taken. On 11 October 2011, the European Commission issued a proposal for a Regulation that would establish such a European instrument. This Regulation aims to remedy a series of legal impediments that sellers and buyers face in their cross-border trade. With the ‘Optional Common European Sales Law’, the European Commission opts for a secondary regime that the Member States should adopt as part of their national law. This Common European Sales Law will not replace the existing national sales laws, but will exist autonomously, together with and next to the 27 national contract law systems already in place. This is the solution the Commission selected from the seven options listed in its Green Paper of 2010. In the ‘Explanatory Memorandum’ to the Proposal for a Regulation, the Commission explains that this was considered the most optimal route to achieve the intended objectives while still respecting the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality. The goal of this article is three-fold. First, to inform the reader of the Proposal for a Regulation on a Common European Sales Law and introduce its objective and applicability. Second, to examine whether the Optional Common European Sales Law, and the regime that the Proposal for a Regulation introduces, would create a legal environment that stimulates the intra-Community, cross-border trade in the most adequate manner. Third, to assess the position of the Optional Common European Sales Law vis-a-vis the existing framework of private international law and uniform sales law. This article consists of six parts. Under Title 1, the authors provide a brief introduction on the background and operation of the Common European Sales Law. The authors then scrutinize this instrument more critically by raising a number of questions. A first question relates to the scope of this instrument (Title 2). A second question deals with the way in which parties may or should express their choice for the application of the Common European Sales Law (Title 3). A third question they briefly touch upon concerns the way in which the uniform application of the instrument will be safeguarded (Title 4). The authors also examine how this new and unique instrument may coexist with the already established framework of private international law and uniform sales law. Under Title 5, they will more specifically reflect upon the position of the Common European Sales Law in relation to the regime of the Rome I Regulation. Under Title 6, they also look at how the proposed instrument corresponds with the rules of the CISG. The authors conclude with a number of observations and recommendations with which they hope and intend to facilitate the drafting proceedings of the European legislators.

An international civil liability regime for the Galileo services: A proposal

According to several studies, the Galileo system is expected to be extremely widespread on a global level. It represents an evolution in and a substantial improvement of the satellite radionavigation systems currently existing. Its very nature will make it significant in various economic sectors and in sectors of substantial public interest. Considering Galileo’s potential global scope, the risk of loss is significant and may even be catastrophic. The absence of an international uniform law causes a number of problems. Such problems include the risks of multiple applicable jurisdictions, the difficulty and costs of identifying the responsible party, uncertainty relating to the notion of reimbursable loss, the introduction of effective loss recovery mechanisms, and difficulties in coordinating with existing convention regimes. Analysis of the convention scenario concerning uniform civil liability rules highlighted a set of well consolidated approaches in practice on an international level. Our proposal is to make a broad reference to these approaches when devising a specific regime for civil liability for loss deriving from Galileo services. In our opinion, the above mentioned regime should include: the strict liability rule; liability channelling; limit to liability; compulsory insurance for at least the limit of liability; the provision for supplementary compensation to guarantee satisfactory reimbursement of losses; and the criteria for identifying the applicable jurisdiction.

The Cape Town Convention After Six Months - Participatory seminar on registration, legal opinions and contract practices, organised under the auspices of the American Foundation for International Uniform Law in association with the Association of American Title Lawyers, Aviareto Ltd., the Aviation Working Group, Fordham Law School and the International Registry Advisory Board - New York (United States of America)

The Cape Town Convention After Six Months - Participatory seminar on registration, legal opinions and contract practices, organised under the auspices of the American Foundation for International Uniform Law in association with the Association of American Title Lawyers, Aviareto Ltd., the Aviation Working Group, Fordham Law School and the International Registry Advisory Board - New York (United States of America) - 23–24 October 2006. Get access Uniform Law Review, Volume 11, Issue 2, April 2006, Pages 362–363, https://doi.org/10.1093/ulr/11.2.362 Published: 01 April 2006

Convention For The Unification Of Certain Rules Relating To International Carriage By Air (Warsaw, 1929)/Convention Pour LUnification De Certaines Regles Relatives Au Transport Aerien International (Varsovie, 1929)

Convention For The Unification Of Certain Rules Relating To International Carriage By Air (Warsaw, 1929)/Convention Pour L´Unification De Certaines Regles Relatives Au Transport Aerien International (Varsovie, 1929) Uniform Law Review, Volume 11, Issue 1, January 2006, Pages 210–213, https://doi.org/10.1093/ulr/11.1.210 Published: 01 January 2006

UK Foundation For International Uniform Law : Conference On The Effects Of The Cape Town Convention For Aviation Professionals - Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, London (United Kingdom) - 20 and 21 February 2006.

Journal Article UK Foundation For International Uniform Law : Conference On The Effects Of The Cape Town Convention For Aviation Professionals - Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, London (United Kingdom) - 20 and 21 February 2006. Get access Massimo Vittori Massimo Vittori Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Uniform Law Review, Volume 11, Issue 1, January 2006, Pages 161–162, https://doi.org/10.1093/ulr/11.1.161-a Published: 01 January 2006

La Convention des Nations Unies sur les contrats de vente internationale de marchandises : Étude comparative des dispositions de la Convention et des règles de droit québécois en la matière

On April 11, 1980, the U.N. Diplomatic Conference held in Vienna approved the Convention on contracts for the International Sale of Goods. This paper deals with the most interesting aspects of the Convention, comparing them with the rules of the Civil Code and the Draft Civil Code of Quebec on this matter. The provisions of this international uniform law are quite close to the rules and remedies existing in civil law juridictions. The major differences between the Convention and the Quebec Law are more technical than substantial. The differences between the uniform law and the national law can also be explained by particular circumstances of international trade which require more celerity and security in the field of international business transactions.

‘Forum Shopping’ Despite international uniform Contract law Conventions

One of the asserted advantages and goals of the unification of substantive law lies in the prevention of ‘forum shopping’,1 ie the lawyer's act of seeking the forum that is most beneficial to his client's interest.2 This has been pointed out not only in discussions on unification of law in general,3 but also in discussions on specific international uniform contract law conventions, such as the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods4 (hereinafter CISG),5 the Geneva Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road6 (hereinafter CMR)7 and the UNIDROIT Convention on International Factoring8 (hereinafter IFC).9

United Nations Convention on the Assignment of Receivables in International Trade/Convention des Nations Unies sur la cession de creances dans le commerce international

United Nations Convention on the Assignment of Receivables in International Trade/Convention des Nations Unies sur la cession de créances dans le commerce international Uniform Law Review, Volume 7, Issue 1, January 2002, Pages 220–261, https://doi.org/10.1093/ulr/7.1.220 Published: 01 January 2002

A 'Global' Arbitration Decided on the Basis of the UNIDROIT Principles: In re Andersen Consulting Business Unit Member Firms v. Arthur Andersen Business Unit Member Firms and Andersen Worldwide Societe Cooperative

THE NUMBER of decisions rendered in international commercial disputes in which the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts are applied in one way or another continues to grow.1 Most of them are arbitral awards,2 but there are also decisions handed down by domestic courts. The ways in which the UNIDROIT Principles are used range from references to individual provisions for the purpose of interpreting correctly ( i.e . in conformity with internationally recognized standards) a particular domestic law or international uniform law instrument otherwise applicable,3 to the application of the UNIDROIT Principles in their entirety as the law governing the substance of the dispute. The latter is the case above all when the parties themselves have chosen the UNIDROIT Principles as the law governing their contract; yet the UNIDROIT Principles are increasingly being applied as the law governing the substance of the dispute by arbitrators on their own motion, both when the parties have remained silent as to the applicable law and when they have referred to ‘general principles of law’, ‘rules and usages of international trade’, the ‘ lex mercatoria ’ or the like.4 A recent example of an arbitral award based on the UNIDROIT Principles is the ICC award rendered a few months ago in Andersen Consulting Business Unit Member Firms v. Arthur Andersen Business Unit Member Firms and Andersen Worldwide Societe Cooperative .5 The award in question, which was immediately publicized worldwide,6 brings to an end a dispute which not only involved enormous economic interests7 but was truly ‘global’ in its dimensions: suffice it to say that the claimants were the 44 Andersen Consulting Business Unit member firms operating in 37 countries, while the respondents were, in addition to the Geneva-based Andersen Worldwide Societe Cooperative, most of the 93 Arthur Andersen …

The Work of the Lando-Commission from an Alternative Viewpoint

The contribution analyses the project of a group of legal scholars who have developed a body of common European principles of contract law in a private initiative. The prevailing idea was that a Common Market requires a uniform legal infrastructure, especially of contract law, as the existing plurality of national contract laws might impede the functioning of the Internal Market. But the project of the Lando-Commission hides more complex features. The social and economic conditions that made possible the 19th century formal codifications have to a large extent changed. Private law as part of the European multi-level-system is forced to react to the regulatory marked-related interventions of European economic legislation. Simultaneously, in the wake of the globalisation of the economy, national codifications have to accommodate new categories of contracts as well as the autonomous transnational law of the business community (lex mercatoria) which has emerged beyond the national legal systems. In this context, the work of the Lando-Commission shall be conceived as an optional system, sustaining the actors in this multi level process. Through a transnational judicial dialogue, these principles might become a useful tool for co-ordination among the fragmented EC directives, international uniform law and traditional private law.

International uniform commercial law Conventions: advantages, disadvantages, criteria for choice

International uniform commercial law Conventions: advantages, disadvantages, criteria for choice Get access Herbert Kronke Herbert Kronke Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Uniform Law Review, Volume 5, Issue 1, January 2000, Pages 13–21, https://doi.org/10.1093/ulr/5.1.13 Published: 01 January 2000

Reservations to international uniform commercial law Conventions

Reservations to international uniform commercial law Conventions Marco Torsello Marco Torsello Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar *Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Verona University; Attorney at Law, Studio Legale Galgano, Bologna (Italy). Author Notes Uniform Law Review, Volume 5, Issue 1, January 2000, Pages 85–120, https://doi.org/10.1093/ulr/5.1.85 Published: 01 January 2000

The relationship between international uniform contract law Conventions

The relationship between international uniform contract law Conventions