International Business Transactions

Research Guides

Elgar Advanced Introductionsare stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences and law, expertly written by the world s leading scholars. Providing a concise overview of the basic doctrines underlying the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG), Clayton Gillette explores their ambiguities and thus considers the extent to which uniform international commercial law is possible, as well as appraising the extent to which the doctrines in the UN Convention reflect those that commercial parties would prefer. With its compelling combination of doctrine and theory, this book makes an ideal companion for students and legal scholars alike.

Written for the novice who may be encountering CISG for the first time or for the seasoned lawyer who is looking for a “refresher course,” this practical guide will help practitioners decipher and understand the complexities of this area of international sales law. The authors conducted extensive research, reading more than 150 U.S. cases that have been decided under the CISG, as well as many decisions of international tribunals as they crafted this valuable, user-friendly guide. This reference covers the basics of CISG, its purpose and basic analysis of the application of CISG to obligations of the buyer or seller’s basic obligations. (From ABA website.)

The rationale behind the Vienna Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) is that a uniform sales law will lead to improved efficiency of cross-border sales and promote international trade. However, although it continues to attract new Member States and now applies to more than 80% of global trade, commercial parties often exclude the CISG, questioning it as a desirable choice of law.

This book provides a detailed examination of the issue of conformity of goods and documents under the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods 1980 (CISG). This issue lies at the heart of sales law and is one of the most frequently litigated.

Contracts for the Sale of Goods delivers detailed analysis and in-depth comparison of the substantive law for the sale of goods in domestic and international transactions. It provides comparative analysis of three major sources of sales law: The United Nations Convention on Contracts for theSale of Goods, the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts (PICC), and Article Two: Sales of the Uniform Commercial Code.Practitioners, academics, and anyone involved in the sale or purchase of goods in the international market will need this thorough analysis of both the text of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) and the cases that have addressed and interpreted theCISG.The new edition examines the number of American cases on the CISG decided since the last edition, and the several hundred major non-American CISG cases, concentrating on the development of specific points of law that have become important and contentious areas. It continues to provide a completediscussion of the PICC including the latest provisions on set-off, assignment, and limitation periods, and timely coverage of the new supplementary model clauses for use with the Principles.

Derived from the renowned multi-volume International Encyclopaedia of Laws, this practical analysis of the law of contracts in Convention on Contracts for the International Sales of Goods (CISG) and Wales covers every aspect of the subject - definition and classification of contracts, contractual liability, relation to the law of property, good faith, burden of proof, defects, penalty clauses, arbitration clauses, remedies in case of non-performance, damages, power of attorney, and much more. Lawyers who handle transnational contracts will appreciate the explanation of fundamental differences in terminology, application, and procedure from one legal system to another, as well as the international aspects of contract law. Throughout the book, the treatment emphasizes drafting considerations. An introduction in which contracts are defined and contrasted to torts, quasi-contracts, and property is followed by a discussion of the concepts of 'consideration' or 'cause' and other underlying principles of the formation of contract. Subsequent chapters cover the doctrines of 'relative effect', termination of contract, and remedies for non-performance.

This book explores the international jurisprudence on Article 79 of the 1980 United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG), which is, perhaps, one of its most contentious provisions. The book's premise is that Article 79 - which concerns exemptions for contractual non-performance due to an "impediment" beyond a party's control - should be interpreted autonomously, that is, as an international norm, without reference to domestic legal concepts and principles. To this end, the book considers the application of Article 79 by courts and arbitral tribunals across a number of signatory states.

In 1980, the United Nations Convention for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) came into being as an attempt to create a uniform commercial sales law. This book, first published in 2007, compares two major restatements - the UNIDROIT Principles and the Principles of European Contract Law (PECL) - with CISG articles. This work has gathered scholars and legal practitioners from twenty countries who contribute analysis on the various issues covered in the articles of the CISG comparing them with how the issue is treated in the UNIDROIT and PECL restatements.

Any practising lawyer and student working with international commercial contracts faces standardised contracts and international arbitration as mechanisms for dispute settlement. Transnational rules may be applicable, but national law is still important. Based on extensive practical experience, this book analyses international contract practice and its interaction with the various applicable sources: which role is played by the contractual regulation, which by national law, which by transnational sources, what is the interaction among these factors, and how does this all apply to contracts that refer disputes to international arbitration?

The Unidroit Principles of International Contracts, first published in 1994, have met with extraordinary success in the legal and business community worldwide. Prepared by a group of eminent experts from all major legal systems of the world, they provide a comprehensive set of rules for international commercial contracts.

Knowing about the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) means to know about the law relating to international import/export contracts applicable to more than ¾ of world trade. This book provides a valuable guide to the understanding of both the fundamentals of that law and how it is interpreted in various countries, thus making it a helpful tool not only for students but also for practitioners. The 3rd Edition is updated throughout with many new decision citations, including decisions rendered in 2022. This Edition also gives proper account of the interaction between the CISG and other recently amended instruments such as the ICC Incoterms (2020) and the ICC force majeure and hardship model clauses (2020).

"An indispensable and compact reference guide that provides an ideal platform for scholars, practitioners (in-house counsel, legal advisors and advocates) and students internationally. The reviewer is tempted to extend this list to include commercial parties such as the importers and exporters as the writing is clear, concise and direct, contract clauses and practitioner tips sections are provided, and finally because the book provides illustrations to which they can relate."

An initial chapter provides an introduction into CISG and Swiss law (as proposed proper law of the terms of sale) with respect to such legal areas which do not fall within the scope of the CISG (e.g. transfer of claims, offsetting, periods of limitation, validity of contracts etc.) and examines deviations in this context in comparison with other more significant legal systems (especially Anglo-American law). Additionally important general legal issues regarding international purchase agreements are discussed (incl. American and European export control and antitrust regulations) and ways for effective incorporation of general terms and conditions into international agreements are pointed out (incl. in consideration of the issue regarding colliding terms and conditions).

The second edition of this well-known survey of the legal aspects of international business contracting has been needed for some time. Over the course of the last decade, a plethora of new concepts and procedures (many catalyzed by growth in the use of information technology) has wrought many changes in the searching, drafting, and execution of international contracts. This book redefines this field of legal practice to accommodate these changes. Material in the Second Edition includes new or updated coverage of the following and much more: outsourcing legal services; electronic transmission of contracts; inadvertent disclosure of confidential information; joint venture governance; restrictive covenants; distribution agreements; and Chinarsquo;s Uniform Contract Law.

Sustainable development is a globally recognized goal. However, governments are failing to reach agreement on how this should be achieved. Private actors that are under stakeholders' pressure try to fill this regulatory gap by developing various types of transnational private regulation. However, transnational private regulation suffers from weak legitimacy, questionable effectiveness, and lack of credible enforcement. This book suggests that supply chain contracting may offer an alternative regulation that could lead away from the current regulatory impasse, or at least be one of the missing pieces in the puzzle. Despite the traditionally primary goal of business - to make a profit - companies are, under the imperative of corporate social responsibility (CSR), engaging in activities pursuing public goals in the social and environmental spheres. The book examines one of the tools developed to implement CSR into the business operations: social and environmental clauses in international supply chain contracts ('sustainability contractual clauses,' SCCs).

The Convention For The International Sale of Goods (CISG) establishes substantive new rules for international contracts. This book fills the need for a compact, yet informative, guide To The CISG. By comparison and contrast To The UCC, The author explains the CISG in terms familiar to American lawyers.

An Indispensable Tool for Cross Border Contracts Since the first edition of the UNIDROIT Principles of International Law were released in 1994, they have become an invaluable tool for international lawyers. Written in English, they are designed for international commercial contracts and have been translated into 15 languages. The UNIDROIT Principles contain over 50 solutions to typical contractual questions constituting compromises between civil and common law, or between differing common laws and differing civil laws.

In the law of contracts, the term `internationalization' has come to mean the removal of transactions from any nation's legal standards, system of dispute resolution, or commercial practices. The trend has picked up speed in recent years, to the point where many business people want their contracts `internationalized' as a matter of course. This convenient volume contains the heart of the matter. It focuses on the essential elements that make a contract `international' in the new sense, and the interrelationships between those elements, rather than on the constantly changing mass of attendant detail.

This book describes and analyses the rules and provisions of the United Nation Convention on the International Sale of Goods of 1980 - CISG-. The authors explain the details of the CISG's text, report the essence of the scholarly discussions of its issues, and, in particular, present numerous cases decided by courts and arbitration tribunals both as illustrations of problems arising under the CISG and as case law interpreting the Convention. The book is mainly intended to be used in teaching, but it can also help practitioners to understand the structure and basic solutions of sales law issues encoded in the CISG.

This third edition of the only work to focus on damages under the CISG maintains its purpose as the primary reference source for this topic.Addressing global judicial and arbitral decisions, the book demonstrates the differences between uniform international instruments and domestic laws, and comparatively analyses the calculation of damages under civil and common law systems under the United Convention on Contracts for theInternational Sale of Goods (CISG).

International Contracting: Law and Practice, in its fourth revised and expanded edition, describes the new and ever-changing concepts and procedures that continue to redefine the searching, drafting, and execution of international contracts. For well over a decade this prized guide has served practitioners handling the legal ramifications of international contracting projects. More profoundly, it takes fully into account the hugely increasing volume of international trade, its ongoing expansion into more and more countries worldwide, and the concomitant need for business persons and transactional lawyers to be aware of the numerous recent international conventions and supranational responses to facilitate trade.

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.

Useful Websites for CISG Research

United Nations Commission on International Trade Law web site that provides access to the CLOUT database, a compilation of court decisions and arbitral awards relating to Conventions and Model Laws emanating from the work of the Commission. At present, the following legal texts are covered by the system: Convention on the Limitation Period in the International Sale of Goods (New York, 1974), and as amended by the Protocol of 1980; United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (Vienna, 1980); UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration (1985); United Nations Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea (Hamburg Rules), (1978); Model Law on Cross Border Insolvency (1997); Model Law on Electronic Commerce (1996); Model Law on Electronic Signatures (2001); Model Law on International Credit Transfers (1992).

Pace University School of Law web site providing access to annotated text of the Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG), diplomatic conference texts, and a useful database of case law on the CISG. Registration required for use.

This website provides access to four types of sources for international business law. First, the TransLex Principles contain more than 120 principles and rules of transnational law. Second, the TransLex Bibliography is a selected collection of bibliographic references on transnational law organized in alphabetical order. Third, TransLex Materials are a collection of domestic statutes, international conventions, model laws, restatements and other soft-law instruments which are relevant to research in transnational law and international business law. Finally, TransLex Links provides a collection of links to internet resources on international business law.

According to the UNCITRAL website, "in light of the large number of CISG-related cases collected in CLOUT, in 2001 the Commission requested a tool specifically designed to present selected information on the interpretation of the Convention in a clear, concise and objective manner. This request originated the UNCITRAL Digest of Case Law on the United Nations Convention on the International Sale of Goods, which has further supported the goal of uniform interpretation of CISG."