Part I General Principles, 1 The Nature, History, and Sources of Commercial Law

Chapter 1 examines the nature of commercial law and transnational commercial law, identifies the forces driving the development of commercial law and gives a brief history of commercial law from the early codes to the present day. After identifying the sources of national commercial law, it goes on to examine the nature and sources of transnational commercial law, with a particular focus on international trade usage and the lex mercatoria and discusses complex issues relating to the binding nature of usage. Also discussed are the major types of international instrument — conventions, model laws, contractually incorporated rules and trade terms promulgated by international organisations such as the International Chamber of Commerce, standard-term contracts, and scholarly restatements such as the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts and the Commission on European Contract Law Principles of European Contract Law.

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 445-464
Author(s):  
Mitja Kovač

This paper explores possible uncontemplated effects and behavioural implications created by duty-to-negotiate provisions in international instruments. More precisely, the paper considers how five different international instruments approach the subject, namely the Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG), UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts (PICC), Principles of European Contract Law (PECL), Draft Common Frame of Reference (DCFR) and Common European Sales Law (CESL). The extent to which these international and European legal instruments correspond to recent economic and behavioural findings is examined. Moreover, an economically inspired analysis is conducted of the uncontemplated consequences of the duty to renegotiate that well-intended international lawmakers never anticipated. Further, it is suggested that game theoretical and behavioural reasons might exist for adopting a cautious approach to the duty to renegotiate in instances of unforeseen contingencies as found in the CISG as well as the English, German, US and Scottish law of contracts. JEL classification: C23, C26, C51, K42, O43


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulrich G. Schroeter

6 Vindobona Journal of International Commercial Law and Arbitration (2002), pp. 257-266The parties' freedom of contract ranks as one of the most important general principles embodied in the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods of 11 April 1980 (CISG) as well as in a number of other sets of rules pertaining to international commercial law. The present paper analyzes if and how the Principles of European Contract Law (PECL) may be used in order to interpret Article 6 CISG (the provision in the Sales Convention that deals with the freedom of contract) and discusses some pertinent problems that have arisen in court practice in this area.


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