CISG@40 News Archive

  • The CISG and COVID-19. There has been a lot of discussion about the EU-AstraZeneca Advance Purchase Agreement since it was released by the EU following its dispute with Astra-Zeneca. In Global sales law in a global pandemic: The CISG as the applicable law to the EU-AstraZeneca Advance Purchase Agreement, Dr. Ben Köhler argues that the CISG is likely the applicable law for the agreement and discusses potential consequences of the CISG's application.
  • El 20 de enero de 2021 participó en un evento para celebrar la entrada en vigor de la CISG en Guatemala y promover su uso e interpretación uniforme. Este artículo ofrece una descripción general de la CISG desde la perspectiva de Guatemala.
  • A recent blog post, Africa in The Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods: Slow ratification by African countries, reviews the status of ratification of the CISG by countries in Africa. The blog post was written by Martin Gitau, an intern with tralac (Trade Law Centre) – a public benefit organisation based in the Western Cape region of South Africa that develops technical expertise and capacity in trade governance across Africa. Read the article here.
  • In the most recent episode of Café Comparatum, the podcast of the International Academy of Comparative Law (IACL), IACL Deputy Secretary-General Dr. Alexandre Senegacnik had a special discussion with the IACL Secretary General Prof. Diego P Fernández Arroyo and Prof. Alejandro Garro (Columbia Law School) to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). Professor Garro is a member of the CISG-Advisory Council. Listen to the episode here.
  • On 22 September 2020, the UNCITRAL secretariat participated in the conference hosted by UNIDROIT Secretariat on the contribution of HCCH, UNCITRAL and UNIDROIT to the harmonisation of the law of international sales, and the Tripartite Legal Guide to Uniform Legal Instruments in the Area of International Commercial Contracts (with a focus on sales). Read more about the event here. View the opening address and the three panels from the event here
  • Recently Monash University held the webinar, To Boldly Go: Data as the CISG's Next (But Probably Not Final) Frontier. In the webinar Dr. Benjamin Hayward, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Business law and Taxation at Monash Business School discussed the suitabiltiy of the CISG framework to electronic data trade, an increasingly important area of economic activity. The webinar can be viewed here.
  • CLOUT Issue 205 is now available in all six official UN languages. It can be accessed here. This issue covers decisions on the CISG and the Limitation Convention, including cases from the Austrian, Czech and French Supreme Courts and a guiding opinion of the Chinese Supreme People’s Court on proper adjudication of civil cases involving the COVID-19 pandemic. Many thanks to Christian Rauscher, Veronika Kubíková, Petr Bříza, Natálie Tůmová, Claude Witz, Ulrich Magnus, Anjanette Raymond and Aybek Akhmedov for their abstracts. 
  • Portugal has acceded the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). Portugal is the ninety-fourth State Party to the Convention and it will enter into force for Portugal on 1 October 2021. Read the press release here.
  • Professor María del Pilar Perales Viscasillas, a CLOUT national correspondant, recently wrote a summary of the recent Spanish Supreme Court case, INTRAVAL v. ECOM. It will appear in a forthcoming issue of CLOUT, where it will be available in the six official UN languages. You can read the summary of the case here (Spanish only).The litigation involved a Spanish company (seller) and a German company (buyer) who entered into a contract for a piece of equipment, which was to be installed in a waste treatement plant in the United Kingdom. Contractual obligations included the manufacture of the unit and assistance for its installation. The parties agreed that Barcelona courts would have jurisdiction, but did not specify the law applicable to the contract. The case discussed or implicated Articles 1.1(a), 3, 7, 38, 39 and 49 of the CISG. The CLOUT database contains nearly 1,000 cases interpretating the CISG. 
  • The UNCITRAL Law Library recently added "La convention de Vienne en Amérique: 40e anniversaire de la Convention des Nations Unies sur les contrats de vente internationale de marchandises" to its collection. The book is the Latin America section of the Comparative Law Society's contribution to the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the CISG. It presents the current state of the application of the CISG in various American countries and measures the influence of the CISG on the sale of goods. You can view the record for the book in the library catalogue or read more about the book here.
  • The Jamaica International Arbitration Centre (JIAC) recently held the event, "Dispute Management in a New World", as a part of its Arbitration Week celebrations. The event celebrated CISG@40 with the panel "Force Majeure under the CISG". A recording of the session is now available for viewing here.
  • The Hong Kong Department of Justice (DoJ) recently issued a consultation paper on the proposed application of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Read the press release here. Find the consultation documents and related information here (English) and here (Chinese).The CISG was also discussed at a meeting of the Panel on Administration of Justice and Legal Services, which is available for viewing here.
  • Bahrain has recently acceded to the United Nations Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts (2005) (the “Electronic Communications Convention”), which is relevant to the international sale of goods concluded by electronic communications. It is the fourteenth State Party to the Convention and it will enter into force for Bahrain on 1 January 2021. Read the press release here.
  • Kiribati recently acceded to the United Nations Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts (2005) (the “Electronic Communications Convention”), which is relevant to the international sale of goods concluded by electronic communications. It is the thirteenth State Party to the Convention and it will enter into force for Kiribati on 1 November 2020. Read the press release here.
  • The Hong Kong Department of Justice (DoJ) recently issued a consultation paper on the proposed application of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Read the press release here. Find the consultation documents and related information here (English) and here (Chinese).
  • The X St. Petersburg International Legal Forum to welcome UNCITRAL CISG@40 celebrations on 20 May, 2020. Read their press release here.
  • The Hong Kong Department of Justice will be holding a briefing session on the CISG titled The CISG in Hong Kong -- What good is it for my business? on 8 January 2020. The session will introduce the CISG, will discuss its salient features, and will explore the pros and cons of applying the CISG to Hong Kong. Read more about the session and how to register here.
  • With its accession to the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG), Guatemala has become the ninety-third State Party to the Convention. Read the press release here.
  • CLOUT Issue 200 is now available online. It includes seven abstracts on the CISG, one on the Limitation Convention, one on the Electronic Communications Convention and one on the Model Law on Electronic Signatures. The cases are from Australia, Denmark, France, Poland and the USA and include recent decisions from the French, Polish and Swiss Supreme Courts on the CISG, as well as judicial guidance on the requirements for legal recognition of electronic signatures. Thanks to Joseph Lookofsky, National Correspondent for Denmark, Ulrich Schroeter, National Correspondent for Switzerland, Claude Witz, National Correspondent for France, Maciej Kochanowski and Björn Schümann for their collaboration.
  • The Lao People's Democratic Republic is the latest State to accede to the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). They are the ninety-second State Party to the Convention. Read the press release from the event here.