CHAPTER THREE: Background and Interpretation of the CISG

CHAPTER THREE

Background and Interpretation of the CISG

3.0 Introduction

This chapter examines the background and scope of the United Nations

Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods 1980 with the aim of

understanding its purpose and interpretative tools.1 Specifically the chapter provides

an in-depth analysis of art 7 CISG which provides the key to understanding the

provisions of the CISG. This discussion assists in understanding how the buyer’s

remedy of avoidance is interpreted and applied.2 Additionally, the chapter considers

the legitimacy of ‘soft law’ such as those principles of commercial contract law

drafted by the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law3 as a method

of filling in the gaps and clarifying the ambiguities of the CISG.4 Lastly the chapter

examines the English common law,5 in conjunction with the Sale of Goods Act

1979,6 dealing with termination of the contract.7 This analysis addresses claims that

English law is better suited8 to international sale of goods contracts9 and sets the

1
Hereinafter referred to as the ‘CISG’; United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International
Sale of Goods (adopted 11 April 1980, entered into force 1 January 1988) 1489 UNTS 3 (CISG);
UNCITRAL, ‘United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (Vienna,
1980) (CISG)’ <[Link]/uncitral/en/uncitral_texts/sale_goods/[Link]> accessed 29
September 2013.
2
See discussion at chapter 5.
3
Hereinafter referred to as ‘UNIDROIT Principles’ or ‘Principles’; International Institute for the
Unification of Private Law, ‘UNIDROIT Principles 2010’
<[Link]/instruments/commercial-contracts/unidroit-principles-2010> accessed 18 July
2014.
4
International Institute for the Unification of Private Law, ‘UNIDROIT Principles of International
Commercial Contracts’ <[Link]/english/principles/contracts/[Link]> accessed 13
October 2013; Katharina Boele-Woelki, ‘Terms of Co-Existence the CISG and the UNIDROIT
Principles’ in Petar Sarcevic and Paul Volken (eds), The International Sale of Goods Revisited
(Kluwer 2001) 203.
5
Hereinafter referred to as ‘English law’.
6
Hereinafter referred to as ‘SGA’; Sale of Goods Act 1979, SR & O 1983/1572.
7
Under English law ‘termination’ has the same meaning as ‘avoidance’ under the CISG.
8
For the purposes of the thesis ‘suitable’ means that the remedy must be capable of being applied to
contracts for different kinds of goods and contracts commonly sold in international trade. Additionally
the remedy must one that the parties can lawfully establish and exercise swiftly and with certainty.
9
See discussion at chapter 1.2.

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 CHAPTER THREE: Background and Interpretation of the CISG

foundations for subsequent chapters that involve a comparison of the CISG and the

English law approaches to termination of the contract.10

3.1 Historical Background

In the late twentieth century, the international community expressed the need for

a harmonised instrument of international sales law.11 Honka commented that,

‘expanding trade will…increase the number of international contracts concluded and

especially the economic volume involved and further necessitate the harmonized

handling of contractual disputes’.12 It is contended that such a harmonising measure

would aid in increasing international trade, promoting fairness and reducing the

negotiation cost of transactions.13 In 1929, Rabel working with UNIDROIT, sought

to establish a uniform law governing international transactions of sale.14 This

resulted in two Hague Conventions in 1964: the Uniform Law for the International

Sale of Goods15 and the Uniform Law on the Formation of Contracts for the

International Sale of Goods.16 These came into force in 1972, but they had limited

success as uniform law, because they were generally considered too broad and

thought to favour industrialised nations.17 Consequently, they were only ratified by

nine countries.18

10
Alastair Mullis, ‘Termination for Breach of Contract in CIF Contracts under the Vienna Convention
and English Law: Is There a Substantial Difference?’ in Eva Lomnicka and Christopher Morse (eds),
Contemporary Issues in Commercial Law: Essays in Honor of Prof AG Guest (Sweet & Maxwell
1997) 137; See also Michael Bridge, ‘Uniformity and Diversity in the Law of International Sale’
(2003) 15 Pace Int'l L Rev 55.
11
Hannu Honka, ‘Harmonization of Contract Law Through International Trade: A Nordic
Perspective’ (1996) 11Tul Eur & Civ LF 111.
12
ibid 113.
13
James Bailey, ‘Facing the Truth: Seeing the Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of
Goods as an Obstacle to a Uniform Law of International Sales’ (1999) 32 Cornell Int'l L J 273, 277.
14
Sieg Eiselen, ‘Adoption of the Vienna Convention for the International Sale of Goods (the CISG) in
South Africa’ (1999) 116 SALJ 323, 333.
15
Hereinafter referred to as ‘ULIS’.
16
Hereinafter referred to as ‘ULF’; Bailey (n 13) 278.
17
Michael Joachim Bonell, An International Restatement of Contract Law: The UNIDROIT
Principles of International Commercial Contracts’ (2nd edn, Transnational 1997).
18
United Kingdom, San Marino, Belgium, Israel, The Netherlands, Italy, Federal Republic of
Germany, Gambia and Luxembourg; Bailey (n 13) 278.

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 CHAPTER THREE: Background and Interpretation of the CISG

The failure of these conventions to gain widespread ratification, suggested that

more effort was needed to create a uniform sales law that could be applied to all

countries regardless of their legal, social or economic backgrounds. In 1966, the

General Assembly of the United Nations19 established the United Nations

Commission on International Trade Law.20 This working group set to work to

review the ULIS and ULF in order to create a new convention.21 At the UN

Diplomatic Conference, which adopted the CISG, 62 countries participated: 22

European and other developed western countries,22 11 members of what is now the

former Soviet bloc,23 11 South-American, 7 African and 11 Asian countries.24 The

participating nations approved six official CISG texts: Arabic, English, French,

Spanish, Chinese and Russian.25

3.2 Scope of the CISG

The CISG, once ratified by a contracting state, results in its taking precedence

over domestic law and choice of legal rules with regard to the sale of goods.26 The

CISG consists of 101 articles and is divided into four parts. Part I deals with its

sphere of application and contains general provisions applicable to the rest of the

CISG. Part II is concerned with rules for the formation of contracts of sale and Part

III with the rules governing the seller's and buyer’s substantive obligations. Part IV

contains the final provisions on adherence to and ratification of the CISG by

19
Hereinafter referred to as the ‘UN’.
20
Hereinafter referred to as ‘UNCITRAL’.
21
Jacob Ziegel, ‘The Future of the International Sales Convention from a Common Law Perspective’
(2000) 6 NZBLQ 336, 337.
22
For example the United States, Canada, Australia.
23
For example the Former Soviet Union, Poland, Czechoslovakia .
24
Pace Law School Institute of International Commercial Law, ‘CISG by State: Trends’ (IICL, 03
August 2006) <[Link]/cisg/[Link]> accessed 29 September 2013.
25
ibid.
26
Michael Bridge, The International Sale of Goods: Law and Practice (2nd edn, OUP 2007) 17.

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 CHAPTER THREE: Background and Interpretation of the CISG

contracting states. This includes the reservations that may be made at one of several

stages regarding the CISG’s applicability to a contracting state.27

Article 1(1)(a) states that the CISG applies to contracts for the sale of goods

between parties whose places of business are in different contracting states. It also

applies when the rules of private international law lead to the application of the law

of a contracting state.28 It is important to note that the CISG is a set of rules for

business not consumer contracts.29 Additionally, certain types of contracts are

specifically excluded under the CISG.30 Questions involving the validity of the

contract are outside the CISG, as is the effect that the contract may have on property

in the goods sold,31 and any liability of the seller for defective goods causing death

or personal injury to any person.32 These matters are determined in accordance with

national laws. One of the notable features of the CISG is that it allows contracting

parties the ability to derogate from,33 or exclude its provisions altogether.34 This

feature will be examined further in chapter four of the thesis.35

27
UNCITRAL, ‘United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (Vienna,
1980) (CISG)’ <[Link]/uncitral/en/uncitral_texts/sale_goods/[Link]> accessed 29
September 2013.
28
CISG, art 1(1)(b) states: ‘when the rules of private international law lead to the application of the
law of a Contracting State’.
29
Bridge (n 26) 23.
30
CISG, art 2 states: ‘This Convention does not apply to sales:(a) of goods bought for personal,
family or household use, unless the seller, at any time before or at the conclusion of the contract,
neither knew nor ought to have known that the goods were bought for any such use; (b) by auction;(c)
on execution or otherwise by authority of law; (d) of stocks, shares, investment securities, negotiable
instruments or money; (e) of ships, vessels, hovercraft or aircraft; (f) of electricity’.
31
CISG, art 4 states: ‘This Convention governs only the formation of the contract of sale and the
rights and obligations of the seller and the buyer arising from such a contract. In particular, except as
otherwise expressly provided in this Convention, it is not concerned with: (a) the validity of the
contract or of any of its provisions or of any usage; (b) the effect which the contract may have on the
property in the goods sold’.
32
CISG, art 5 states: ‘This Convention does not apply to the liability of the seller for death or personal
injury caused by the goods to any person’.
33
Under CISG, art 6 derogation under the Convention is permitted, with the one exception of CISG,
art 12.
34
This exclusion can be done expressly, it is somewhat contentious amongst some scholars if an
exclusion can be implied therefore the exclusion can be implied but must be sufficiently clear, parties
are advised to make their intentions clear to avoid unwanted results; Bridge argues that some States
may require an explicit written exclusion, unlike ULIS the CISG did not specifically say implied
exclusions were permissible, thus there is doubt on the issue; See also Bridge (n 26) 540;

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 CHAPTER THREE: Background and Interpretation of the CISG

3.3 Purpose of the CISG

It is necessary to address why the CISG is an important instrument to govern

international sale of goods transactions. In order to answer this question, we must

examine the position of contracting parties prior to the enactment of the CISG.

Before the CISG came into force, contracting parties would usually compromise on

the applicable sales law by choosing the foreign law of a third-party country. This

would prevent either party from gaining an unfair advantage of greater knowledge or

familiarity with the applicable law than the other party.36 However, this was not

always the most prudent approach as difficulties arose with reaching an agreement

with foreign parties on the applicable sales law.37 It is argued that the CISG offers

parties a compromise which may decrease the time and legal costs involved in

research of foreign laws as well as avoiding any unfair advantage to either party.38

However, these claims are contentious as it is debatable whether the CISG has

fulfilled the purpose of making international sales transactions more certain,

efficient, and less costly.39 Hobhouse argues that:

These conventions are inevitably and confessedly drafted as multi-

cultural compromises between different schemes of law. Consequently
they will normally have less merit than most of the individual legal
systems from which they have been derived. They lack coherence and
consistency. They create problems about their scope. They introduce

UNCITRAL, ‘Yearbook: Volume I (1968-1970)’ A/CN.9/SER.A/1970

<[Link]/pdf/english/yearbooks/yb-1968-70-e/yb_1968_1970_e.pdf> accessed 26 October
2013; Ingeborg Schwenzer and Pascal Hachem, ‘Article 6’ in Ingeborg Schwenzer (ed), Commentary
on the UN Convention on the International Sale of Goods (CISG) (3rd edn, OUP 2010) 103.
35
See discussion at chapter 4.1.2.
36
Christiana Fountoulakis, ‘The Parties' Choice of “Neutral Law” in International Sales Contracts’
(2005) 7:3 EJLR 303.
37
J VanDuzer, ‘The Adolescence of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International
Sale of Goods in Canada’ (Canadian Bar Association's International Law Section Annual Conference,
Ottawa, May 2001) <[Link]/cisg/biblio/[Link]> accessed 26 October 2013.
38
Larry DiMatteo, ‘The CISG and the Presumption of Enforceability: Unintended Contractual
Liability in International Business Dealings’ (1997) 22 Yale J Int'l L 111, 143.
39
Michael Bridge, ‘The Bifocal World of International Sales: Vienna and Non-Vienna’ in R
Cranston (ed), Making Commercial Law (OUP 1997) 277; See also Jan Hellner, ‘The Vienna
Convention and Standard Form Contracts’ in Paul Volken and Petar Sarcevic (eds), International Sale
of Goods: Dubrovnik Lectures (Oceana 1986) 333, 338; Larry DiMatteo and Daniel Ostas,
‘Comparative Efficiency in International Sales Law’ (2011) 26:2 Am U Int'l L Rev 371.

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 CHAPTER THREE: Background and Interpretation of the CISG

uncertainty where there was no uncertainty before. They probably

deprive the law of those very features which enable it to be an effective
tool for the use of international commerce.40

The thesis will argue that these criticisms are premature and largely unsubstantiated,

even in light of the compromises that would have been made on contentious issues.41

Given that the CISG automatically applies to contracts for the sale of goods between

parties whose places of business are in different contracting states, 42 those parties do

not have to wade through unfamiliar foreign legislation to find common agreement.

Thus, harmonised laws help to facilitate international trade by providing

predictability and familiar legal standards.43 When contracts for international sale of

goods are involved, the CISG supplants any previous domestic laws of a contracting

state,44 thus making it part of the integral framework of the laws of that country. For

example, if there is a contract for the sale of goods involving a seller from the United

States45 and a buyer from Germany, if the contract stipulates it is to be governed by

the laws of the seller’s country, this would indicate that the CISG is the governing

law and not the domestic commercial laws embodied in the Uniform Commercial

Code.46 The position is less certain if the CISG is applicable under art 1(1)(b). In

this case, if the buyer is located in a contracting state, Germany, and the seller is in a

non-contracting state, for example, the United Kingdom,47 the CISG only applies if

the designated law chosen to govern the transaction is that of a contracting state. An

40
Sir John Hobhouse, ‘International Conventions and Commercial Law: The Pursuit of Uniformity’
(1990) 106 LQR 531, 533.
41
See discussion below at chapter 3.4.
42
CISG, art 1(1)(a) states: ‘(1) This Convention applies to contracts of sale of goods between parties
whose places of business are in different States (a) when the States are Contracting States’.
43
Loukas Mistelis, ‘Is Harmonisation a Necessary Evil? The Future of Harmonisation and New
Sources of International Trade Law’ in Ian Fletcher, Loukas Mistelis and Marise Cremona (eds),
Foundations and Perspectives of International Trade Law (Sweet and Maxwell 2001) 26.
44
Subject to the requirements that it meets the criteria to satisfy CISG, art 1-6; Also subject to parties
not choosing to opt out of the CISG or derogate from its provisions under CISG, art 6.
45
Hereinafter referred to as the ‘US’.
46
Hereinafter referred to as the ‘UCC’.
47
Hereinafter referred to as the ‘UK’.

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 CHAPTER THREE: Background and Interpretation of the CISG

example of this is a case involving a Russian buyer (contracting state) and an Indian

seller (non-contracting state), whereby the contract stated that the choice of law

would be the substantive law of the Russian Federation.48 The arbitral tribunal

interpreted this to mean the CISG was the applicable sales law as Russia is a

contracting state therefore the CISG has been incorporated into the laws of that

country.49 This approach is based on the premise that both the buyer and seller are

aware that their choice of law forum is governed by the CISG. An alternative to this

approach is when the rules pursuant to international conventions lead to its

application, for example, through the 1980 Rome Convention on the Law Applicable

to Contractual Obligations.50 The Rome Convention applies to contractual

obligations in situations involving a choice of laws, even in the case where the

designated law is that of a non-contracting State.51 Parties are free to choose the law

applicable to the whole or a part of the contract and the court that will have

jurisdiction over disputes.52 However, this may not always be the case if the

contracting parties have chosen a foreign jurisdiction that prohibits a choice of law

by the parties. An example of this is Brazil where the courts are wary of the

advantage given to Western laws, thus enforcement of a foreign law in a Brazilian

forum is extremely difficult.53

The next part of the chapter examines the interpretive tools found in art 7 as

these will be important to determine if the buyer’s remedy of avoidance is suitable to

48
Russia 18 July 2005 Arbitration proceeding 134/2004 (IICL, 07 August 2007)
<[Link] accessed 26 October 2013.
49
ibid.
50
Hereinafter referred to as the ‘Rome Convention’; Schwenzer and Hachem (n 34) 41.
51
EUROPA, ‘Convention on the law applicable to contractual obligations (Rome Convention)
80/934/ECC’ (EUROPA, 2009)
<[Link]
ers/l33109_en.htm> accessed 01 August 2014.
52
ibid.
53
Dana Stringer, ‘Choice of Law and Choice of Forum in Brazilian International Commercial
Contracts’ (2005) 44 Colum J Transnat'l L 959, 960; Schwenzer and Hachem (n 34) 41.

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 CHAPTER THREE: Background and Interpretation of the CISG

deal to with contracts for international sale of goods.54 If the provisions dealing with

the remedy are correctly interpreted and applied, the remedy is appropriate for all

types of breaches that may occur in different kinds of sale of goods contracts.

3.4 Interpretation of the CISG under Article 7

The examination of whether the buyer’s remedy of avoidance under the CISG is

suitable for international sale of goods contracts will be determined via its legislative

history, scholarly writings and judicial interpretation.55 The thesis argues that an

analysis of the interpretation and application of the CISG’s provisions helps to

clarify any ambiguities that exist, thereby reducing uncertainties and laying to rest

some of the criticisms of its use in sale transactions.56 This approach has been

adopted because it enables us to gain an insight into the interpretation of crucial

issues, such as the buyer’s avoidance of the contract for fundamental breach.57 In

order to understand why interpretation is significant, the nature and formulation of

art 7 must be examined.

Interpretation is the process by which judges and arbitrators in applying the

CISG will ascertain the meaning and the legal effects to be given to its individual

provisions. As a background to the discussion of the formulation of art 7, it must be

understood that as a result of negotiations amongst participating countries, many

provisions in the CISG were a product of compromise. Ziegel states that, ‘where an

acceptable compromise could not be reached the drafters unhappily had to seek

refuge in vague or obfuscatory language’.58 Thus, it is necessary to view the CISG

not as a body of rules, providing an explicit solution to every problem that may arise,

but as a framework of laws which are capable of generating solutions through its

54
Text to n 8.
55
ibid.
56
See discussion at chapter 1.2 and 2.4.1.
57
See discussion at chapter 5.1.2.
58
Ziegel (n 21) 338.

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 CHAPTER THREE: Background and Interpretation of the CISG

underlying principles. Article 7 provides a good illustration of this point.59 Koneru

states that this ‘is arguably the single most important provision in ensuring the future

success of the CISG’.60 Felemegas contends that:

[t]he area where the battle for international unification will be fought and
won, or lost, is the interpretation of the CISG's provisions. Only if the
CISG is interpreted in a consistent manner in all legal systems that have
adopted it, will the effort put into its drafting be worth anything.61

This is demonstrated by the fact that there are no specially designated courts to hear

disputes involving the CISG, rather it is up to national courts to make sure the

provisions are correctly interpreted and applied.

The origins of art 7 are founded in the CISG’s predecessor ULIS, specifically

arts 262 and 17.63 Negotiations and compromises brought about the changes to the

text of these articles, and resulted in the present wording of art 7. For example, it was

noted with regard to ULIS that guidance on interpretation of the uniform law was

noticeably inadequate; art 17 ULIS did not expressly state the general principles on

which it was based and what the position would be in the event that judges could not

identify those general principles.64 Therefore, the drafting delegates recognised that

to suggest disputes arising under the CISG could be resolved and its ambiguous

59
CISG, art 7 states: ‘(1) In the interpretation of this Convention, regard is to be had to its
international character and to the need to promote uniformity in its application and the observance of
good faith in international trade. (2) Questions concerning matters governed by this Convention
which are not expressly settled in it are to be settled in conformity with the general principles on
which it is based or, in the absence of such principles, in conformity with the law applicable by virtue
of the rules of private international law’.
60
Phanesh Koneru, ‘The International Interpretation of the UN Convention on Contracts for the
International Sale of Goods: An Approach Based on General Principles’ (1997) 6 Minn J Global
Trade 105.
61
John Felemegas, ‘The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods:
Article 7 and Uniform Interpretation’ in Pace Int'l L Rev (eds), Review of the Convention on
Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) (Kluwer 2000) 115.
62
ULIS, art 2 states: ‘Rules of private international law shall be excluded for the purpose of the
application of the present law subject to any provision to the contrary in the said law’.
63
ULIS, art 17 states: ‘Questions concerning matters governed by this law which are not expressly
settled in it are to be settled in conformity with the general principles on which the present Law is
based’.
64
Michael Joachim Bonell, ‘Article 7’ in Cesare Massimo Bianca and Michael Joachim Bonell (eds),
Commentary on the International Sales Law (Giuffrè 1987) 66 .

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 CHAPTER THREE: Background and Interpretation of the CISG

terms construed without recourse to domestic law was both unworkable and

impractical.65

Article 7(1) states that interpretation should be made with regard to: its

international character; the need to promote uniformity in its application and the

observance of good faith in international trade. The solution to filling in gaps in the

CISG was provided for in art 7(2), which creates a hierarchical system of principles

for judges and arbitrators to take under consideration. In order to resolve omissions

in the CISG, which are often referred to as praeter legem gaps,66 one must look to its

internal principles and only when this method has been exhausted can external

principles, such as the laws applicable by virtue of private international law, be

brought in as a last resort.67 This internal method of gap filling is referred to as the

‘true code approach’ whereas the use of external legal principles to fill in gaps is

referred to as the ‘meta code approach’.68 It has been argued that during the drafting

of the CISG, civil law and common law countries with conflicting ideologies and

legal systems could not agree on one particular approach and therefore a compromise

was reached by incorporating both systems on a hierarchal basis.69

Article 7 is a source of great debate. Although it was designed to clarify and

interpret other parts of the CISG which are vague and ambiguous, it is paradoxical

that it is itself unclear in its direction and wording.70 For example, no further

elaboration is given on what general principles are embodied in the CISG to serve as

65
ibid.
66
As opposed to intra legem (external gaps); Franco Ferrari, ‘Burden of Proof under the CISG’ in
Pace Int'l L Rev (eds), Review of the Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods
(CISG) (Kluwer 2000) 1; Lucia Sica, ‘Gap-filling in the CISG: May the UNIDROIT Principles
Supplement the Gaps in the Convention?’ (2006) 1 Nord J Intl L 1.
67
Bonell (n 64) 75.
68
Sica (n 66) 5.
69
ibid.
70
Robert Hillman, ‘Applying the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale
of Goods: The Elusive Goal of Uniformity’ (1995) Cornell Review of the Convention on Contracts
for the International Sale of Goods 21; Martin Gebauer, ‘Uniform Law, General Principles and
Autonomous Interpretation’ (2000) 4 Unif L Rev 683.

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a guideline for those entrusted with the task of interpreting its provisions. Therefore,

art 7 has been the subject of numerous commentaries, as scholars and practitioners

attempt to give meaning to its provisions.71 In order to understand the significance of

this provision it is necessary to examine some of these scholarly writings.

3.4.1 International Character

The wording of art 7(1) implies that in interpreting the provisions of the CISG

judges should abstain from resorting to a domestic definition of a provision or a term

which could conflict with its application.72 For instance, in a case involving the sale

of condensate crude oil, where the arbitral body considered the conformity of the

goods to the contract,73 the use of domestic concepts such as ‘merchantability’74 and

‘average quality’75 were rejected on the basis that these interpretations would arrive

at a different outcome from what was intended by the drafters of the CISG. Instead,

the meaning of conformity was interpreted according to the ‘reasonable quality’

criterion which was in line with the general principles of the CISG.76 Therefore,

decision makers must keep in mind the very purpose for which the CISG came into

existence, and that any deviation from its ‘international character’ would undermine

its legitimacy. Van Alstine puts forth the notion of ‘dynamic treaty interpretation’,

71
Gyula Eörsi, ‘General Provisions’ in Galston & Smit (eds), International Sales: The United Nations
Convention on Contracts for the International Sale Of Goods, (Juris 1984) 2.01; Bonell (n 64) 88.
72
Robert Hillman, ‘Cross-References and Editorial Analysis Article 7’ (IICL, September 1997)
<[Link] accessed 28 October 2013.
73
Netherlands 15 October 2002 Netherlands Arbitration Institute, Case No 2319 (Condensate crude
oil mix case) (IICL, 12 November 2007) <[Link] accessed
28 October 2013.
74
A standard of conformity found in English common law and under the 1893 version of the SGA the
requirement was that the goods are of ‘merchantable quality’ this meant that the goods were
commercially saleable. As this term proved to be too ambiguous, in 1973 the first attempt at a
statutory definition appeared in Section 14(6) stipulating that the goods were of a merchantable
quality if: ‘they are as fit for the purpose or purposes for which goods of that kind are commonly
bought as it is reasonable to expect having regard to any description applied to them, the price (if
relevant) and all the other relevant circumstances’. The current definition of ‘satisfactory quality’ was
enacted in the 1994 amendments to the Act.
75
Found in the German, Austrian, French, and Swiss civil codes.
76
See discussion at chapter [Link]; Larry DiMatteo and others, ‘The Interpretive Turn in
International Sales Law: An Analysis of Fifteen Years of CISG Jurisprudence’ (2004) 34 Northwest J
Int'l L & Bus 299, 397.

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recognising that the judiciary have an active role to play in interpreting the CISG and

developing its body of case law.77 To be precise, the judiciary have to ascertain and

give meaning to the principles of the CISG to aid in the advancement of the law.78

Criticisms of the way courts have applied provisions of the CISG can be seen in

many cases where it has been argued that judges have applied its provisions verbatim

without any real analysis or understanding of the meaning or purpose of the

provisions.79 The judiciary, when faced with having to interpret provisions, have

done so with a high degree of reserve and formalism.80 In one case it was observed,

‘to alter, amend, or add to any treaty, by inserting any clause, whether small or great,

important or trivial, would be on our part an usurpation of power, and not an exercise

of judicial functions’.81 This attitude towards interpretation has resulted in decisions

with either little or no rationale or, in some cases decisions simply contrary to the

wording of the CISG.82 For example, the US has been criticised because its federal

courts have made no substantial effort to interpret the CISG.83 Murray Jnr stated

that, ‘many feel the lack of judicial interpretation or construction of [the] CISG

permits great leeway for anyone undertaking the formation and enforcement of CISG

77
Michael Van Alstine, ‘Dynamic Treaty Interpretation’ (1998) 146 U Pa L Rev 687.
78
ibid 692.
79
Larry DiMatteo and others, International Sales Law: A Critical Analysis of CISG Jurisprudence
(CUP 2005) 10; Lachmi Singh, ‘Caveat Emptor are Decisions more Favourable to the Seller on
Matters Relating to Letters of Credit? An Examination of CIETAC Decision of 4 June 1999’ (2006) 2
Nordic Journal of Commercial Law 1, 15; See also China 4 June 1999 CIETAC Arbitration
proceeding (Industrial raw material case) (IICL, 27 October 2008)
<[Link] accessed 31 October 2013.
80
Van Alstine (n 77) 687.
81
Chan v Korean Air Lines Ltd 490 US 122, 135 (1989); This is not a CISG case, nevertheless the
reasoning behind the quote still exists under the interpretation of the CISG.
82
Beijing Metals & Minerals v American Business Center F 2d 1178, 1183 (5th Cir 1993); China 4
June 1999 CIETAC Arbitration proceeding (Industrial raw material case) (IICL, 27 October 2008)
<[Link] accessed 31 October 2013.
83
Harry Flechtner, ‘More US Decisions on the UN Sales Convention: Scope, Parol Evidence,
“Validity” and Reduction of Price under Article 50’ (1995) 14 J L & Com 153; David Moore, ‘The
Parol Evidence Rule and the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of
Goods: Justifying Beijing Metals & Minerals Import/Export Corp v American Business Center Inc’
(1995) BYU L Rev 1347.

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agreements’.84 One example of an incorrect application of the CISG on the part of

the US judiciary can be seen in the case of Beijing Metals & Minerals v American

Business Center.85 Here, the dictum stated that the parole evidence rule would apply

to the case even if that case was governed by the CISG. 86 The parole evidence rule

refers to the rule that the courts will apply the terms of the contract as written and

that extrinsic evidence cannot be used to vary the terms of a written contract, unless

one of the exceptions to the rules can be established.87 These exceptions include a

limited number of circumstances including if the contract contains a term that is

ambiguous or incomplete88 and if a fraud or illegality is proven.89 Thus, the parole

evidence rule is based on the premise that the written contract is the sole basis of a

contractual agreement, unless one of the exceptions applies in which case extrinsic

evidence will be considered.90 In Beijing Metals there was no further explanation or

analysis of the rationale for this conclusion even though a contrary decision was

reached in a previous case.91 In the present case such an erroneous judgement could

have been avoided if attention had been given to art 8(3) CISG.92 Article 8(3)

impliedly excludes the application of the parole evidence rule because the CISG does

84
John Murray Jnr, ‘An Essay on the Formation of Contracts and Related Matters under the United
Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods’ (1988) 8 J L & Com 11, 50.
85
Beijing Metals & Minerals v American Business Center F 2d 1178, 1183 (5th Cir 1993); China 4
June 1999 CIETAC Arbitration proceeding (Industrial raw material case) (IICL, 27 October 2008)
<[Link] accessed 31 October 2013.
86
This case whilst cited in MCC-Marble Ceramic Center v Ceramica Nuova D'Agostino Federal
Appellate Court [11th Circuit 1998] was not followed and instead Filanto v Chilewich 2nd instance
Circuit Court of Appeals, 984 F 2d 58 (2d Cir 1993) was confirmed as the correct judgement in
regards to the parole evidence question.
87
See discussion at chapter 4.2.2; Justin Sweet, ‘Contract Making and Parol Evidence Diagnosis and
Treatment of a Sick Rule’ (1967) 53 Cornell L Rev 1036.
88
Sweet (n 87) 1036.
89
ibid.
90
These include: if the written contract is not the whole of the agreement, evidence as to validity of
the contract, terms implied by law, evidence as to capacity of parties, to aid in construction of the
contract, to prove custom, rectification and to show evidence of a collateral contract.
91
Filanto SpA v Chilewich International Corp 789 F Supp 1229 1237 (SDNY 1992).
92
CISG, art 8(3) states: ‘In determining the intent of a party or the understanding a reasonable person
would have had, due consideration is to be given to all relevant circumstances of the case including
the negotiations, any practices which the parties have established between themselves, usages and any
subsequent conduct of the parties’.

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not need one of the exceptions to apply before consideration will be given to the

surrounding circumstances of a case.93 The CISG directs judges to always consider

these circumstances. Decisions such as the one presented above are a threat to the

international character of the CISG. When judges exercise their interpretative powers

in the light of their own domestic laws the purpose of the CISG is diminished. This

could have severe consequences for the buyer’s remedy of avoidance under the

CISG. For example, in the case where the written contract was ambiguous as to

whether the buyer and seller had agreed on delivery of ‘three integrated drive

generators having different part numbers’ or ‘three integrated drive generators

having the same part numbers’, the court had to resort to examining the

correspondence exchanged during negotiations to determine the parties’ intent.94

Thus, if surrounding circumstances were not considered the buyer could be left

without a suitable remedy.

Dynamic treaty interpretation would mean that when gaps emerge within the

CISG’s express provisions, the judiciary will not restrict themselves to the black

letter law provided, instead they should strive to delve deeper into the meaning

behind that provision.95 Judges are encouraged to use interpretive tools such as the

legislative history of a provision and to identify general principles in the CISG which

can be ascertained from examining the intention of the CISG drafting delegates.96

The international character of the CISG means that judges have to co-operate with

courts in other contracting states in creating decisions which can be relied on and

referred to when disputes arise under the CISG.97 However, in practice judges seem

reluctant to follow decisions from foreign jurisdictions even though the CISG is an

93
See discussion at chapter 4.2.2.
94
Mitchell Aircraft Spares v European Aircraft Service 23 F Supp 2d 915 (1998).
95
Van Alstine (n 77) 687.
96
ibid.
97
ibid.

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international instrument ratified by all contracting states. Van Alstine notes that a

‘single decision by a foreign tribunal cannot acquire formal precedential status’.98

Therefore for a rationale to gain widespread acceptance, the approach must be

adopted by a number of courts across different contracting states in order to build a

body of case law. Although art 7(1) does not expressly require consideration of

foreign cases as precedents or case law, consideration of such decisions should be

taken into account to maintain the international character of the CISG.99 This was

illustrated in Diversitel Communications Inc v Glacier Bay Inc100 where the

Canadian court took into consideration an earlier decision of a Swiss court to

determine whether the buyer could avoid the contract for fundamental breach.101 In

both cases not only did the parties stipulate a fixed date for performance, but the

buyer had also made known to the seller that the goods were needed to fulfil

contracts made with other third-parties, thus late delivery constituted a fundamental

breach.102 This example demonstrates that courts should strive to apply the same

rationale when similar facts arise. By recognising that a foreign court has reached the

same decision the body of CISG case law is strengthened. The next part of the

chapter examines the requirement of uniformity embodied in art 7 to determine its

meaning and application.

98
ibid 788.
99
See discussion at chapter 2.1; E Farnsworth, ‘The Eason-Weinmann Colloquium on International
and comparative Law: Duties of Good Faith and Fair Dealing under the UNIDROIT Principles,
Relevant International Conventions, and National Laws’ (1994) 3 Tul J Int'I & Comp L 47, 55.
100
See discussion at chapter 5.2.5; [2003] 42 CPC (5th) 196.
101
Switzerland 15 September 2000 Supreme Court [4C105/2000] (FCF SA v Adriafil Commerciale
Srl) (IICL, 16 February 2007) <[Link] accessed 4 June
2014.
102
Diversitel Communications Inc v Glacier Bay Inc [2003] 42 CPC (5th) 196; cf Switzerland 15
September 2000 Supreme Court [4C105/2000] (FCF SA v Adriafil Commerciale Srl) (IICL, 16
February 2007) <[Link] accessed 4 June 2014.

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 CHAPTER THREE: Background and Interpretation of the CISG

3.4.2 Uniformity

Article 7(1) emphasises the need to promote uniformity when interpreting its

provisions. The reasoning behind this instruction is evident: uniformity of decisions

will determine if the CISG has been successful in attaining it aims, namely, to

remove legal barriers and promote the development of international trade.103

Additionally, uniformity of decisions helps to promote certainty in transactions and

in establishing and exercising the buyer’s remedy of avoidance under the CISG.104

Although no definition of uniformity is offered, scholarly material provides some

explanation on this matter.105 As previously stated, the CISG does not have an

independent body set up to hear disputes, rather it is for national courts and tribunals

to interpret the meaning of its provisions. Databases such as the Pace Law School

Institute of International Commercial Law106 have made it easier for foreign judges

to access decisions made by other member states on the same issues.107 It is

recommended that the international character of the CISG must be interpreted

together with the rule of uniformity to ensure that it is correctly applied. Some CISG

judgments support this. For example, the Serbian Chamber of Commerce Court of

Arbitral stated that interpretation must be, ‘consistent with foreign judicial practice,

103
Pace Law School Institute of International Commercial Law, ‘Annotated Text of CISG: Preamble’
(IICL, 9 August 9 2002) <[Link]/cisg/text/[Link]> accessed 29 September
2013.
104
Peter Huber, ‘CISG: The Structure of Remedies’ (The Convention on the International Sale of
Goods. The 25th Anniversary: Its Impact in the Past, Its Role in The Future, German Society of
Comparative Law, Private Law Division Conference, Wurzburg, September 2005)
<[Link]/cisg/biblio/[Link]> accessed 30 September 2013.
105
Van Alstine (n 77) 687; Camilla Baasch Andersen, ‘The Uniform International Sales Law and the
Global Jurisconsultorium’ (2005) 24 J L & Com 159.
106
Hereinafter referred to as the IICL.
107
See discussion at chapter 2.1.

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 CHAPTER THREE: Background and Interpretation of the CISG

which was to be taken into consideration for the uniform application of the

Convention, on the basis of article 7(1)’.108

However, Gebauer contends that autonomous interpretation may not result in

uniformity.109 He argues that courts will decide cases differently and have different

autonomous interpretations even when looking at the same legislative history,

underlying aims, and analogy with other rules of a particular provision.110 It is

conceded that while this may be true to a certain extent, when viewed objectively it

is difficult to reconcile with the purpose of the CISG. If, for example, two cases

arose on the same facts, both cases deal with issues that are governed by the CISG

but not expressly settled in it. If both decision makers were examining the same set

of facts based on legislative history, aims and general principles the decisions should

not be altogether dissimilar in outcome, barring minor exceptions. If this is not the

case and Gebauer’s assertion is correct, it would mean that decision makers are not

rising above their own domestic legal philosophies to embrace the international legal

structure upon which the CISG is based. The reason why uniformity is likely to

prove elusive is that the CISG has no designated court or tribunal equipped with the

task of interpreting its provisions; instead that task is left to national courts and

national judges who are not isolated entities, they are influenced by their own legal

traditions.111 To deter the ever present threat of the ‘homeward trend,’112 the courts

need not only to exhaust all the mechanisms provided for within the CISG, but also

refer to decisions handed down by courts and tribunals in other countries. Dynamic

108
Serbia 15 July 2008 Foreign Trade Court of Arbitration attached to the Serbian Chamber of
Commerce (Milk packaging equipment case) (IICL, 18 March 2011)
<[Link] accessed 31 October 2013.
109
Gebauer (n 70) 683.
110
ibid 685.
111
Van Alstine (n 77) 687.
112
John Honnold, Documentary History of the Uniform Law for International Sales: The Studies,
Deliberations, and Decisions that led to the 1980 United Nations Convention with Introductions and
Explanations (Kluwer 1989) 1.

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 CHAPTER THREE: Background and Interpretation of the CISG

interpretation is a task which most courts are reluctant to carry out.113 Honnold

states that:

[the]Convention…will often be applied by tribunals . . . who will be

intimately familiar only with their own domestic law. These tribunals,
regardless of their merit, will be subject to a natural tendency to read the
international rules in light of the legal ideas that have been imbedded at
the core of their intellectual formation. The mind sees what the mind has
means of seeing.114

Article 7(1) implicitly requires that courts consider the decisions of other contracting

states. Gebauer states, ‘these rules not only allow but require consideration of

foreign case law, thus promoting uniform application of the Convention and thereby

serving legal predictability and security’.115 However, Bonell and Liguori note that,

‘very rarely do decisions take in to account the solutions adopted on the same point

by courts in other countries’.116 An example of this is Beijing Metals & Minerals v

American Business Center,117 where the US courts applied their own domestic laws

on the parole evidence rule,118 rather than art 8, to determine the admissibility of

surrounding circumstances.119 Other illustrations of this practice by US courts

include Delchi Carrier SpA v Rotorex Corp.120 Rather than applying the test of

‘foreseeability’ as required under art 74 CISG, the courts instead applied the term

‘reasonably envisioned’.121 The ambit of the domestic term was narrower than the

test of foreseeability as set out in the CISG and stipulated that consequential

113
Van Alstine (n 77) 687; Bridge (n 10) 75.
114
Honnold (n 112) 1.
115
Gebauer (n 70) 691.
116
Michael Joachim Bonell and Fabio Liguori, ‘The UN Convention on the International Sale of
Goods: A Critical Analysis of Current International Case Law-1997 (Part 1)’ (1997) Unif L Rev 385.
117
Beijing Metals & Minerals v American Business Center F 2d 1178, 1183 (5th Cir 1993).
118
UCC, art 2-202.
119
Beijing Metals & Minerals v American Business Center F 2d 1178, 1183 (5th Cir 1993).
120
71 F3d 1024 (2d Cir 1995) where the court applied the wording of New York law to a case
involving the award of damages.
121
71 F3d 1024 (2d Cir 1995).

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 CHAPTER THREE: Background and Interpretation of the CISG

damages were only recoverable where the parties had agreed to assume that

responsibility.122

As there is no international court to confer authority on diverging decisions of

national courts, CISG cases depend on the quality of decisions, which will have to

demonstrate a rationale for the decision.123 If a court simply applies a particular

provision to a case without explaining why it has reached that conclusion, foreign

courts would be reluctant to cite that decision as persuasive authority. For instance

when faced with a case for establishing fundamental breach under art 25 CISG, if the

court simply reaches the conclusion that non-conformity of goods amounted to a

fundamental breach without trying to establish how each criterion in that provision

was met, then the decision is without judicial merit, that is, even though it may be

correct, it fails to produce a rationale. An example of a sound rationale is

demonstrated in a case for the sale of sports clothing, the seller failed to deliver the

goods on time and when delivery was made it was not of the quantity or quality

stipulated in the contract.124 Here, the court allowed the buyer to avoid the contract

stating, ‘the seller had not delivered goods of the quantity, quality and description

required by the contract’, specifically ‘by delivering clothes that shrank about 10-

15%, the seller had fundamentally breached the contract, as the buyer had been

deprived of what it was entitled to expect under that contract’. 125 Furthermore, the

court added that as a result of the shrinkage customers could not wear the sportswear

after the first wash.126 This would result in a high number of customer complaints,

122
Eric Schneider, ‘Consequential Damages in the International Sale of Goods: Analysis of Two
Decisions’ (1995) 16 Journal of International Business Law 615, 618.
123
Monica Kilian, ‘CISG and the Problem with Common Law Jurisdictions’ (2001) 10(2) J Transnat'l
L & Pol'y 217, 238.
124
Germany 5 April 1995 District Court Landshut (Sport clothing case) (IICL, 20 March 2007)
<[Link] accessed 01 August 2014.
125
ibid.
126
ibid.

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 CHAPTER THREE: Background and Interpretation of the CISG

customers would not purchase the clothes which would harm the buyer’s interests.127

Here we can see the German court providing a clear rationale for arriving at the

conclusion that a fundamental breach had occurred.128

Another factor which may affect the interpretation of the CISG and hinder the

principle of uniformity is the issue of multiple languages. The CISG has six official

languages, yet most of the drafting was carried out in English and French.129 Some

commentators have indicated that if there is an issue of conflicting linguistic

interpretation then priority should be given to the English and French versions.130

The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties 1969131 states, ‘when a comparison

of the authentic texts discloses a difference of meaning…the meaning which best

reconciles the texts, having regard to the object and purpose of the treaty, shall be

adopted’.132 This would entail having regard to the drafting and conclusion of the

conference leading up to the completion of the CISG.133 An example of conflicting

language interpretations can be seen in art 3(1) CISG which uses the term

‘substantial part’ to exclude the possibility of the party who is ordering the goods

supplying a substantial part of those materials. The term used in the corresponding

French text is ‘part essentielle’, which could have a different interpretation from its

English counterpart. The term has been interpreted to mean the economic value of

the materials, thus if the economic value of the materials being supplied by the party

ordering them was greater than the party supplying them, then the CISG would be

127
ibid.
128
See discussion at chapter 5.1.2.
129
See discussion above at chapter 3.1.
130
Peter Schlechtriem, Commentary on the UN Convention on the International Sale of Goods (CISG)
(2nd edn, Clarendon 1998) para 27; Bruno Zeller, ‘International Trade Law -- Problems of Language
and Concepts?’ (2003) 23 J L & Com 39,43.
131
Hereinafter referred to as ‘VCLT’.
132
VCLT, art 33(4).
133
Ingeborg Schwenzer and Pascal Hachem, ‘Intro to Arts 1-6’ in Ingeborg Schwenzer (ed),
Commentary on the UN Convention on the International Sale of Goods (CISG) (3rd edn, OUP 2010)
25.

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 CHAPTER THREE: Background and Interpretation of the CISG

excluded.134 Conversely, there is support for interpreting the term to mean essential

as in its purpose or function in relation to the goods as a whole.135 In one case

involving the sale of window units, the courts held that, ‘the few tools which were to

be supplied by the buyer are neither with respect to their value nor their function

essential ones’.136 The CISG Advisory Council examined this issue and in its

opinion No 4, it examined the legislative history of the CISG and the intention of the

drafters.137 The Advisory Council concluded that the drafters deliberately omitted

the term ‘essential’ from the wording of the English text of the CISG. This was done

in light of examining the dissatisfaction of ULIS and ULF both of which contained

the term, ‘an essential and substantial part of the materials’.138 The Advisory

Council went on to state that:

The word “essential” was deleted suggesting that the essential criteria
was rejected by the drafters of the CISG. However, despite the fact that
“essential” was there “thrown out the door”, it re-entered “through the
window” via the French text of the Convention, and the interpretation
made by some legal writers and in some of the case law.139

134
John Honnold, Uniform Law for International Sales under the 1980 United Nations Convention
(3rd edn, Kluwer 1999) 57; See also Germany 24 March 1998 District Court Berlin (Knitwear case)
(IICL, 13 December 2006) <[Link] accessed 02 February
2014.
135
Bernard Audit, ‘La vente internationale de marchandises (Convention des Nations-Unies du 11
Avril 1980)’ (1990) 25 LGDJ 25.
136
Germany 3 December 1999 Appellate Court München (Window production plant case) (IICL, 21
February 2007) <[Link] accessed 02 February 2014.
137
Pace Law School Institute of International Commercial Law, ‘CISG-Advisory Council Opinion No
4: Contracts for the Sale of Goods to Be Manufactured or Produced and Mixed Contracts (Article 3
CISG)’ (IICL, 25 January 2005) <[Link]/cisg/[Link]> accessed 02
February 2014.
138
ULIS, art 6 states: ‘Contracts for the supply of goods to be manufactured or produced shall be
considered to be sales within the meaning of the present Law, unless the party who orders the goods
undertakes to supply an essential and substantial part of the materials necessary for such manufacture
or production’; ULF, art 1(7) states: ‘Contracts for the supply of goods to be manufactured or
produced shall be considered to be sales within the meaning of the present Law, unless the party who
orders the goods undertakes to supply an essential and substantial part of the materials necessary for
such manufacture or production’.
139
Pace Law School Institute of International Commercial Law, ‘CISG-Advisory Council Opinion No
4: Contracts for the Sale of Goods to Be Manufactured or Produced and Mixed Contracts (Article 3
CISG)’ (IICL, 25 January 2005) para 2.5 <[Link]/cisg/[Link]>
accessed 02 February 2014.

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 CHAPTER THREE: Background and Interpretation of the CISG

The problem of language interpretation can have a detrimental impact on the

remedy of avoidance under the CISG. Although the thesis focuses on art 49, the

buyer’s right to avoid the contract, as pointed out in chapter one there are other

provisions in the CISG that deal with avoidance.140 One of these provisions is art 72,

the right to declare the contract avoided for anticipatory breach. While further

examination will not be made of this provision in the thesis, it nonetheless serves to

demonstrate the problems that can occur with language interpretation. Under the

English version of the CISG there is a distinction in the wording of art 71,141 the

right to suspend performance for the other parties’ inability to perform and art 72,142

the right to declare the contract avoided for anticipatory breach. 143 The standard of

certainty required in art 72 that the other party will not perform is more rigorous than

that of art 71.144 This is justified on the basis that avoidance is a final act whereas

suspension is temporary, thus the former requires a stricter standard.145 Therefore,

the anticipated breach under art 71 to suspend performance needs only to be

140
See discussion at chapter 1.1; CISG, art 64 (seller’s right to avoid the contract); CISG, art 72
(anticipatory breach); CISG, art 73 (instalment contracts); CISG, art 51 partial delivery.
141
CISG, art 71 states: ‘(1) A party may suspend the performance of his obligations if, after the
conclusion of the contract, it becomes apparent that the other party will not perform a substantial part
of his obligations as a result of:(a) a serious deficiency in his ability to perform or in his
creditworthiness; or (b) his conduct in preparing to perform or in performing the contract. (2) If the
seller has already dispatched the goods before the grounds described in the preceding paragraph
become evident, he may prevent the handing over of the goods to the buyer even though the buyer
holds a document which entitles him to obtain them. The present paragraph relates only to the rights
in the goods as between the buyer and the seller. (3) A party suspending performance, whether before
or after dispatch of the goods, must immediately give notice of the suspension to the other party and
must continue with performance if the other party provides adequate assurance of his performance’.
142
CISG, art 72 states: ‘(1) If prior to the date for performance of the contract it is clear that one of the
parties will commit a fundamental breach of contract, the other party may declare the contract
avoided. (2) If time allows, the party intending to declare the contract avoided must give reasonable
notice to the other party in order to permit him to provide adequate assurance of his performance. (3)
The requirements of the preceding paragraph do not apply if the other party has declared that he will
not perform his obligations’.
143
Harry Flechtner, ‘The Several Texts of the CISG in a Decentralized System: Observations on
Translations, Reservations and other Challenges to the Uniformity Principle in Article 7(1)’ (1998) 14
J L & Com 187, 190.
144
ibid.
145
Harry Flechtner, ‘Remedies under the New International Sales Convention: The Perspective from
Article 2 of the UCC’ (1988) 8 J L & Com 53, 91; Keith Rowley, ‘A Brief History of Anticipatory
Repudiation in American Contract Law’ (2001) 69 U Cin L Rev 633.

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 CHAPTER THREE: Background and Interpretation of the CISG

‘apparent’ whereas it needs to be ‘clear’ under art 72.146 However, if we compare

the French version of the CISG, there is no distinction in the wording of the required

standard, both provisions use the term ‘essentielle’.147 Therefore, when presented

with this problem regard should be had to the meaning and purpose of the provision.

As such, the standards of exercising art 72 should be stricter, since the underlying

principles of the CISG indicate the remedy of avoidance ‘is a remedy of last

resort’.148 This is supported by the requirement of establishing a fundamental

breach. It is important that when in doubt as to the meaning of a particular phrase or

term, especially when it has been translated from English, judges interpret the CISG

with a view to the drafters’ intent rather than their own domestic notions. The next

part of the chapter examines the role of ‘good faith’ under the CISG, in particular the

problems associated with its meaning and how its interpretation will impact decision

making.

3.4.3 Good Faith

The concept of ‘good faith’ in the CISG is one illustration of the tension

amongst civil and common law countries; the manner in which it is worded is a

reflection of this tension.149 The extent to which commercial law should emulate and

uphold standards of morality is controversial.150 The reconciling of morality with

146
ibid.
147
CISG, art 71 states that, to justify suspension, a party must threaten non-performance of ‘une partie
essentielle de ses obligations’ and CISG, art 72 requires a threat of ‘une contravention essentielle au
contrat’.
148
See discussion at chapter 5.1; Ulrich Magnus, ‘The Remedy of Avoidance of Contract under CISG
-- General Remarks and Special Cases’ (2005) 25 J L & Com 423, 424; Markus Müller-Chen, ‘Article
49’ in Ingeborg Schwenzer (ed), Commentary on the UN Convention on the International Sale of
Goods (CISG) (3rd edn, OUP 2010) 747.
149
Pace Law School Institute of International Commercial Law, ‘Legislative History 1980 Vienna
Diplomatic Conference: Analysis of Comments and Proposals by Governments and International
Organizations on the Draft Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, and on Draft
Provisions Concerning Implementation, Reservations and Other Final Clauses’ (IICL, 29 July 2004)
<[Link] accessed 02 February 2014.
150
Troy Keily, ‘Good Faith and the Vienna Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of
Goods (CISG)’ 3 Vindobona Journal of International Commercial Law and Arbitration 15.

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 CHAPTER THREE: Background and Interpretation of the CISG

the law has been approached in opposing ways by civil and common law systems.151

For example, this concept is addressed in s 242 of the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch,152

which stipulates that ‘an obligor has a duty to perform according to the requirements

of good faith, taking customary practice into consideration’. 153 However, English

law has adopted a very different stance. In the case of commercial contracts, ‘broad

concepts of honesty and fair dealing, however laudable, are a somewhat uncertain

guide when determining the existence or otherwise of an obligation which may arise

even in the absence of any dishonest or unfair intent’.154

Given the differences in ideology regarding the role of good faith, Farnsworth

describes art 7(1) as a, ‘statesmanlike compromise’.155 The common law approach

appears to have been more influential since good faith is not imposed as a legal

obligation on contracting parties. Instead good faith was shifted to the role of

interpreting the CISG with the ‘observance of good faith in international trade’,

‘giving it an honourable burial’, according to Eörsi.156 However, it is difficult to

imagine that judges and arbitrators, in interpreting the CISG, would not take into

consideration the conduct of the parties when making a decision. As Koneru argues,

‘good faith cannot exist in a vacuum and does not remain in practice as a rule unless

the actors are required to participate’.157 Schlechtriem attempts to put this quandary

to rest by advancing the idea that good faith in the CISG should amount to a general

principle, based on internationally accepted standards, such as carrying out

151
ibid.
152
German Civil Code; Hereinafter referred to as the ‘BGB’.
153
BGB, s 242.
154
Banque Financiere de la Cité SA v Westgate Insurance Co Ltd (unreported, Court of Appeal of
England, 28 July 1988); However English Law does recognise certain contracts of utmost good faith-
uberrimae fides. Usually seen in insurance or trustee/beneficiary contracts; See also Keily (n 150) 15.
155
Farnsworth (n 99) 55.
156
Eörsi (n 71) 2.03.
157
Koneru (n 60) 139.

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 CHAPTER THREE: Background and Interpretation of the CISG

performance in an honourable manner.158 The latter approach would be consistent

with art 8, which looks at the intentions and conduct of the parties and, furthermore,

art 25, which deals with fundamental breach and does not allow for avoidance of the

contract for trivial matters. In support of this the CISG provides remedies such as

curing breaches before159 and after160 the date of performance.161 However, Bridge

is firmly opposed to the idea of a general obligation of good faith. 162 He argues that

it does not take into account the diversity of commercial contracting, and will

undermine the CISG by opening the door to further ambiguity and less certainty.163

The role of interpretation with regard to good faith has had some impact on the

buyer’s remedy of avoidance. Although the requirement of establishing a

fundamental breach is not dependent on the breaching party being at ‘fault’ it is

argued that deliberate breaches should entitle the buyer to avoid the contract.164 This

has been supported in case law where the basis of trust had been destroyed between

the parties as a result of the actions of the breaching party.165 However, subsequent

cases have rejected this argument stating that avoidance for the buyer’s loss of trust

in the seller was not a valid criterion for establishing fundamental under art 25.166

It is not the purpose of this study to advance the argument of the benefits or the

detriments of the good faith requirement in art 7(1). Instead it proceeds on the

158
Schlechtriem (n 130) para 27; Paul Powers, ‘Defining the Undefinable: Good Faith and the United
Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods’ (1999) 18 J L & Com 333,
345.
159
CISG, art 34 (Documents); CISG, art 37 CISG (Goods).
160
CISG, art 48.
161
See discussion at chapter 6.
162
Michael Bridge, ‘Good Faith in Commercial Contracts’ Roger Brownsword (ed), Good Faith in
Contract Concept and Context (Ashgate 1999) 163.
163
ibid.
164
See discussion at chapter 5.1.3; Martin Karollus, ‘Article 25’ in Heinrich Honsell (ed), Kommentar
zum UN-Kaufrecht (Springer 2009) 23; cf Benjamin Leisinger, Fundamental Breach Considering
Non-Conformity of the Goods (Sellier 2007) 98.
165
Germany 17 September 1991 Appellate Court Frankfurt (Shoes case) (IICL, 20 March 2007)
<[Link] accessed 29 May 2014.
166
See discussion at chapter 5.1.3; Germany 3 April 1996 Supreme Court (Cobalt sulphate case)
(IICL, 15 November 2007) <[Link] accessed 30 May
2014.

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 CHAPTER THREE: Background and Interpretation of the CISG

premise that interpretation of the CISG requires the observance of good faith in

international trade and should be taken into account when making decisions.

However, it is necessary to examine the extent to which different legal systems use

good faith in their decision making process. This assists in discerning to what extent

national courts are succeeding in developing a uniform approach to interpretation.

The chapter proceeds to examine the general principles upon which the CISG is

based and how decision makers can ascertain those principles and apply it to the case

law.

3.5 General Principles

In the drafting of the CISG, delegates of civil law countries advocated the use of

general principles on which it should be based. Furthermore, they were in favour of

using analogy as one of the methods of filling in gaps under art 7, in other words a

‘true code’ methodology.167 However, delegates of common law countries doubted

that such principles could be found in the CISG that would be clear and certain

enough to address every problem that might arise. Therefore, they advocated the use

of domestic laws to fill in the gaps if the CISG did not expressly refer to an issue.168

Article 7(2) states that filling in ‘gaps’ is permitted when matters are governed but

not expressly settled within the CISG. Furthermore, it instructs decision makers to

look to the general principles on which it is based to fill in those gaps. If those

general principles do not exist, then the CISG allows for the rules of private

international law to fill in the gaps. In the wording of art 7(2), ambiguities are

evident as the CISG fails to state what exactly these general principles are, and how

they can be ascertained. The thesis recalls one of the criticisms made earlier of art

17 ULIS where the negotiating delegation disapproved of the lack of any general
167
Hillman (n 70) 21; Wayne Barnes, ‘Contemplating a Civil Law Paradigm for a Future
International Commercial Code’ (2005) 65 La L Rev 677.
168
Hillman (n 70) 21.

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 CHAPTER THREE: Background and Interpretation of the CISG

principles listed in that convention to serve as useful guidelines. However the CISG

offers no improvement on that matter.169 The CISG itself, neither in its provisions

nor in the Secretariat Commentary,170 states what these general principles are but the

academic commentary assists in this matter.

There are four basic policies underlying the CISG: freedom of contract,

promotion of co-operation and reasonableness to preserve the contract, facilitation of

exchange even in the event that something goes wrong, and to provide compensation

for the aggrieved party.171 Many scholars support this,172 and advance the idea that

given these underlying policies there should always be an answer within the CISG

itself to fill any gaps that may arise, thus making the resort to domestic law

unwarranted.173 To avoid the problem of interpretation based on domestic law,

judges should instead use all the internal mechanisms available to them, including

the text of the CISG, statutory purpose, public policy174 and legislative history.175

Specific provisions in the CISG cannot be regarded as general principles, for they are

merely rules.176 General principles underpin these rules and a general principle

should form part of the foundation of the CISG. General principles can be extracted

by analysing the contents of specific provisions of the CISG and how these are

interpreted in the case law.177 For example, the principle of reasonableness can be

seen in avoidance provisions, the standard of the reasonable person in those

circumstances, or in the provisions to take reasonable steps to mitigate damages or

169
See discussion above at chapter 3.4; Bonell (n 64) 66 .
170
The closest thing the CISG has to a reliable official commentary.
171
Hillman (n 70) 21.
172
Franco Ferrari, ‘Uniform Interpretation of the 1980 Uniform Sales Law’ (1994) 24 Ga J Int'l &
Comp L 183; Felemegas (n 61) 115.
173
Except, of course, for those issues outside the CISG’s scope.
174
Public policy at the international level in the sphere of commercial law includes decision making
which contributes to the removal of legal barriers and promotion of the development of international
trade; Van Alstine (n 77) 687.
175
Van Alstine (n 77) 690.
176
Felemegas (n 61) 115.
177
ibid.

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 CHAPTER THREE: Background and Interpretation of the CISG

preserve the contract.178 The next section of the chapter examines some of the

mechanisms available to decision makers to identify the general principles

underlying the CISG.

3.5.1 Legislative History

The VCLT 1969, is the most widely accepted agreement dealing with

interpretation of treaties.179 Article 31 VCLT states, ‘a treaty shall be interpreted in

good faith in accordance with the ordinary meaning to be given to the terms of the

treaty in their context and in light of its object and purpose’. 180 Furthermore, art 32

VCLT states:

Recourse may be had to supplementary means of interpretation including

the preparatory work of the treaty and the circumstances of its
conclusion, in order to confirm the meaning resulting from the
application of Article 31, or to determine the meaning when the
interpretation according to Article 31 (a) leaves the meaning ambiguous
or obscure; or (b) leads to a result which is manifestly absurd or
unreasonable.181

The importance of the VCLT cannot be underestimated, although there is some

uncertainty as to whether it can apply to the CISG, as the VCLT was designed to

govern obligations between governments182 while the CISG governs obligations

between private parties.183 However, the VCLT can be applicable to the CISG.

Although the interpretative provisions of art 7 CISG extend to parts one, two and

178
Ulrich Magnus, ‘Rabels Zeitschrift for Foreign and International Private Law: General Principles
of UN-Sales Law’ (1995) 59 (3/4) Max-Planck-Institute for Foreign and International Private Law 1.
179
Brigitte Stern, ‘Interpretation In International Trade Law’ in Malgosia Fitzmaurice, Olufemi Elias
and Panos Merkouris (eds), Treaty Interpretation and the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties:
30 Years on (Brill 2010).
180
Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties 1969 UN Doc A/CONF.39/27.
181
Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties 1969 UN Doc A/CONF.39/27.
182
Bruno Zeller, ‘Four-Corners - The Methodology for Interpretation and Application of the UN
Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods’ (IICL, 2003)
<[Link]/cisg/biblio/[Link]> accessed 20 October 2013.
183
ibid.

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 CHAPTER THREE: Background and Interpretation of the CISG

three of the CISG, part four is governed by the VCLT.184 Honnold supports this and

argues that:

Article 7 of the Sales Convention embodies mutual obligations of the

Contracting States as to how their tribunals will construe the Convention.
Hence, the 1969 Vienna Convention would be pertinent to a question
concerning the construction of Article 7, but the 1969 Convention would
not govern the interpretation of the articles dealing with the obligations
of the parties to the sales contract, for these articles are to be construed
according to the principles (properly construed) of Article 7.185

Thus, the VCLT will not be applicable to the CISG when dealing with obligations

between private individuals. However, as judges are national entities entrusted with

interpreting the CISG, the guidelines set out in arts 31 and 32 VCLT can be used to

interpret art 7.

The idea of looking to the legislative history of a provision to determine an

answer can be frustrating and ambiguous, because of the many contentious issues

under the CISG which led to vague compromises.186 Easterbrook rejects the idea of

looking at the legislative history of a provision. He states, ‘intent is elusive for a

natural person, fictive for a collective body’,187 pointing out that the legislative

process can be influenced by different interests and motivations which often leave

ambiguous, conflicting statements in the drafting records.188 Although this

contention may be well founded, examining the draft commentary of the provision in

question could prove fruitful as it could help to guide the decision maker as regards

the concerns and overall intention of the drafters. Thus, the legislative history of a

provision should not be the only mechanism judges consult when trying to fill in a

gap in the CISG but it is certainly a useful first step in trying to do so. This approach

184
ibid.
185
Honnold (n 134) fn 44; cf Fothergill v Monarch Airlines Ltd [1981] AC 251, 282–283.
186
Robert Skilton, ‘Some Comments on the Comments to the Uniform Commercial Code’ (1966) Wis
L Rev 597, 606.
187
Frank Easterbrook, ‘Statutes’ Domains’ (1983) 50 U Chi L Rev 533.
188
ibid 547.

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 CHAPTER THREE: Background and Interpretation of the CISG

can be seen in cases involving the payment of interest under the CISG.189 After

examining the legislative history of the CISG it was clear that although provisions

were made for the payment of interest 190 the issue of the rate of calculating that

interest was never expressly settled by the drafters. Thus the question arose, whether

resort to domestic laws on this issue was permissible?191 A German court, in a case

involving a Swiss seller and German buyer, applied domestic law and determined

that interest should be paid at the rate of 5%, which was the statutory interest rate

under both German and Swiss laws.192 However in another case decided by the

Swiss court involving a French seller and a German buyer the court held that the rate

of interest was an issue that fell within the scope of the CISG.193

The issue of the rate of interest is of importance to the buyer’s remedy of

avoidance, specifically the consequences of avoidance. The effect of avoidance on

the contract is to require each party to make restitution of what they had exchanged

before the contract was avoided.194 Article 84 CISG states that, ‘if the seller is

bound to refund the price, he must also pay interest on it, from the date on which the

price was paid’. This approach was applied to a case for the delivery of sunflower

oil where the seller failed to make delivery of the first instalment even though the

189
Germany 20 April 1994 Appellate Court Frankfurt (New Zealand mussels case) (IICL, 10 August
2005) <[Link] accessed 08 February 2014; Germany 20
July 1995 District Court Aachen (IICL, 11 August 2005)
<[Link] accessed 08 February 2014; Switzerland 5
February 1997 Commercial Court Zürich (Sunflower oil case) (IICL, 08 November 2006)
<[Link] accessed 02 August 2014.
190
CISG, arts 78 and 84.
191
Alan Zoccolillo, ‘Determination of the Interest Rate under the 1980 United Nations Convention on
Contracts for the International Sale of Goods: General Principles vs National Law’ (1997) 1
Vindobona Journal of International Commercial Law and Arbitration 3.
192
Germany 20 April 1994 Appellate Court Frankfurt (New Zealand mussels case) (IICL, 10 August
2005) <[Link] accessed 08 February 2014.
193
Switzerland 5 February 1997 Commercial Court Zürich (Sunflower oil case) (IICL, 08 November
2006) <[Link] accessed 02 August 2014.
194
See discussion at chapter 2.4.5 and 7.2.1; CISG, art 81 (2).

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 CHAPTER THREE: Background and Interpretation of the CISG

buyer had paid the price for the goods.195 The courts granted avoidance for

fundamental breach and awarded interest based on the rate at the seller’s place of

business.196 This makes sense and provides a fair outcome to the parties as the seller

does not receive an unfair advantage for interest accumulated on the price paid for

the goods. In absence of a choice of law clause the applicable rate of interest should

be calculated according to the rate of the country where the seller has his place of

business as this is most likely where he would have invested the payments.197

3.5.2 Analogy

This section examines the legitimacy of using analogy as a means of discerning

general provisions under the CISG. The use of analogy in the interpretation of

statutory instruments has existed for many years. The Prussian Allgemeines

Landrecht für die Preussischen Staaten 1794,198 made provisions for the use of

analogy.199 Section 49 ALR examines the situation that arises in a dispute where no

specific rule is applicable, directing judges to, ‘decide on the basis of the general

principles adopted in the code, and according to his best judgment, having regard to

existing provisions applicable to analogous cases’.200 Methods of interpretation

using analogy are also used in the Austrian Allgemeines Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch

1811,201 s 7 states:

If a case cannot be decided with reference to the words of the law, regard
shall be had to analogous cases explicitly dealt with in the Code and to
the policies underlying other kindred laws. If the case still remains in

195
Switzerland 5 February 1997 Commercial Court Zürich (Sunflower oil case) (IICL, 08 November
2006) <[Link] accessed 02 August 2014.
196
ibid.
197
Denis Tallon, ‘Article 84’ in Cesare Massimo Bianca and Michael Joachim Bonell (eds),
Commentary on the International Sales Law (Giuffrè 1987) 611.
198
Hereinafter referred to as ‘ALR’; The ALR regulated the civil law, penal law, family law, public
law and administrative law.
199
Jan Hellner, ‘Gap-Filling by Analogy Article 7 of the UN Sales Convention in its Historical
Context’ in Jan Ramberg (ed), Studies in International Law: Festskrift til Lars Hjerner (Stockholm
1990) 219.
200
ibid.
201
Hereinafter referred to as ‘ABGB’.

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 CHAPTER THREE: Background and Interpretation of the CISG

doubt, it shall with careful consideration of the surrounding

circumstances, be decided according to the principles of natural law.202

Enderlein and Maskrow contend that:

Gap filling can be done by applying such interpretative methods as

extensive interpretation and analogy. The admissibility of analogy is
directly addressed in the wording contained in the CISG because it is
aimed at obtaining from several comparable rules, one rule for a not
expressly covered fact or a general rule under which the fact can be
subsumed.203

Analogy can be described as the discovery of a specific provision dealing with

similar issues to the one present in the gap. However, there must be a link between

the gap and the analogous situation.204 Using analogy as a means of interpretation

requires a detailed examination of the provision in question because the rule in the

provision may be restricted to a particular situation thus making the analogy contrary

to the drafter’s intention.205 For example, the Italian court examined the question of

which party must bear the burden of proving the lack of conformity of the goods.206

The court rejected the contention that the burden of proof was a question excluded

from the CISG and should be governed by the applicable domestic law.207 It held

that the burden of proof is a matter governed but not expressly settled by the CISG.

Therefore, it was to be settled in conformity with the general principles underlying

the CISG as seen in art 7(2).208 In the court’s view, it is a general principle

underlying the CISG that the claimant should provide evidence in favour of its

202
ABGB, s 7; Hellner (n 199) 219.
203
Fritz Enderlein and Dietrich Maskow, International Sales Law: United Nations Convention on
Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, Convention on the Limitation Period in the
International Sale of Goods (Oceana 1992) 58.
204
ibid.
205
Hillman (n 70) 21.
206
Rheinland Versicherungen v Atlarex Italy 12 July 2000 District Court Vigevano (IICL, 05
December 2005) <[Link] accessed 08 February 2014.
207
CISG, arts 4 and 7(2).
208
Rheinland Versicherungen v Atlarex Italy 12 July 2000 District Court Vigevano (IICL, 05
December 2005) <[Link] accessed 08 February 2014.

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 CHAPTER THREE: Background and Interpretation of the CISG

claim.209 The principle may be derived from using art 79(1) CISG in the form of an

analogy, which in referring to a party's failure to perform its obligations, makes

reference to the issue of burden of proof.210 Therefore, the buyer must prove the lack

of conformity and the damage resulting from it.211 These decisions could have an

impact on the buyer’s remedy of avoidance, specifically establishing a fundamental

breach as it will for the party seeking avoidance to bear the burden of proving it.

Brandner considers the use of analogy under the CISG since it is not expressly

mentioned as a means of gap filling in art 7.212 He argues that since autonomous

interpretation is required and the words in the CISG should not be assumed to mean

the same as they do in domestic law, the use of domestic law should be a last

resort.213 Civil law countries favour analogy, whereas common law courts are often

unwilling to go further than the wording of the treaty to deduce objective teleological

criteria.214 This is supported by the criticisms and later limitations in Pepper v Hart,

which allowed English courts to examine the legislative history of a statutory

instrument when faced with ambiguous wording of the legislative text.215 Prior to

this, such an action would have breached art 9 of the Bill of Rights 1689 and the

rules of parliamentary privilege.216 However, this approach has been criticised:

It would have been a fiction for the House to say that as a matter of
historical fact the explanation of the Financial Secretary reflected the
intention of Parliament. Such a fact cannot in the nature of things be

209
Rheinland Versicherungen v Atlarex Italy 12 July 2000 District Court Vigevano (IICL, 05
December 2005) <[Link] accessed 08 February 2014.
210
See discussion at chapter [Link]; CISG, art 79(1) states: ‘A party is not liable for a failure to
perform any of his obligations if he proves that the failure was due to an impediment beyond his
control and that he could not reasonably be expected to have taken the impediment into account at the
time of the conclusion of the contract or to have avoided or overcome it or its consequences’.
211
Rheinland Versicherungen v Atlarex Italy 12 July 2000 District Court Vigevano (IICL, 05
December 2005) <[Link] accessed 08 February 2014.
212
Gert Brander, ‘Admissibility of Analogy in Gap-filling under the CISG’ (IICL, 21 December
1999) <[Link] accessed 22 October 2013.
213
ibid.
214
ibid.
215
Pepper v Hart [1993] AC 593.
216
Johan Steyn, ‘Pepper v Hart: A Re-examination’ (2001) 21 OJLS 59.

82
 CHAPTER THREE: Background and Interpretation of the CISG

deduced from Hansard. Arguably the House may have had in mind in
Pepper v Hart that an intention derivable from the Financial Secretary’s
statement ought to be imputed to Parliament. If that were the case, the
reasoning would rest on a complete fiction. My view is that the only
relevant intention of Parliament can be the intention of the composite and
artificial body to enact the statute as printed. If there is substance in this
part of the analysis, it tends to undermine the very core of the reasoning
in Pepper v Hart.217

These arguments are based on the premise that examination of Hansard,218 is

expensive to the litigants and often proves to be fruitless as it may not provide any

further clarification.219 It is argued that the intention of Parliament is in fact rooted

in the final printed text of the statute and nothing else.220

Bonell believes analogy to be included in the recourse to general principles,

even though the legislative history of art 7 is inconclusive on the issue.221 He states

that:

[i]n the case of a gap in the Convention the first attempt to be made is to
settle the unsolved question by means of an analogical application of
specific provisions. To this effect the discovery of a provision dealing
with similar cases is a necessary but not a sufficient prerequisite.222

However, analogy should only be used in cases where it is clear that the wording of a

specific provision was not limited to certain circumstances.223 For example the

wording of art 49(1)(b) which states that the buyer may declare the contract avoided,

‘in case of non-delivery, if the seller does not deliver the goods within the additional

period of time fixed by the buyer in accordance with para (1) of art 47’.224 This

provision was deliberately restricted to allowing the fixing of an additional time to

breaches for non-delivery and thus extension of its scope to other types of breaches

217
ibid 66.
218
Hansard is the edited verbatim report of proceedings of both the House of Commons and the
House of Lords.
219
Steyn (n 216) 59; See also Geoffrey Marshall, ‘Hansard and the interpretation of statutes’ in D
Oliver and G Drewry (eds), The Law and Parliament (CUP 1998).
220
Steyn (n 216) 59.
221
Bonell (n 64) 82; Brander (n 212).
222
Bonell (n 64) 78.
223
ibid.
224
CISG, art 49(1)(b).

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 CHAPTER THREE: Background and Interpretation of the CISG

would undermine the meaning of the provision and be contrary to the drafters’

intent.225 Therefore, a breach for non-delivery, even if not fundamental from the

outset, could be transformed into a fundamental breach if the seller fails to perform

within the additional time.226 It is arguable, therefore, that analogy is permitted as a

means of ascertaining general principles under the CISG. However, it has to be

apparent that there is a clear and unmistakable link between the problem in question

and the analogy being used, and furthermore that the wording of the provision was

not limited to specific circumstances. The next part of the chapter will examine an

external means for filling in the gaps in the CISG, specifically the UNIDROIT

Principles to determine when it will be legitimate to use soft law as a means of

interpretation.

3.6 UNIDROIT Principles

The chapter has analysed the merits of some of the internal mechanisms

available to decision makers to ascertain general principles within the CISG. This

section examines one of the external methods of gap filling without the recourse to

domestic law. UNIDROIT is an independent intergovernmental organisation, whose

purpose is to ‘study needs and methods for modernising, harmonising and co-

ordinating private and in particular commercial law between States and groups of

States’.227 The UNIDROIT Principles were discussed and drafted by legal scholars

from different countries, whose opinions did not represent any particular country or

225
Bonell (n 64) 78; Michael Will, ‘Article 49’ in Cesare Massimo Bianca and Michael Joachim
Bonell (eds), Commentary on the International Sales Law (Giuffrè 1987) 360; See also UNCITRAL,
‘Yearbook: Volume IV (1973)’ A/CN 9/SER A/1973 <[Link]/pdf/english/yearbooks/yb-
1973-e/1973_e.pdf> accessed 26 October 2013.
226
See discussion at chapter 5.2.8.
227
International Institute for the Unification of Private Law, ‘History and Overview’ (UNIDROIT,
2014) <[Link]/about-unidroit/overview> accessed 04 February 2014.

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 CHAPTER THREE: Background and Interpretation of the CISG

legal system.228 This approach precluded the need to adopt diplomatic solutions

when deciding the scope and wording of provisions, thus important issues were not

obscured with ambiguous phraseology born of compromise amongst member

states.229 Furthermore, the unequal bargaining power that may exist in international

treaties between stronger trading nations, was not present in the drafting of the

Principles.230 The Principles provides an in-depth official commentary to each

article, these comments and the examples that illustrate them are an important tool of

interpretation and application of the rules.231 The purpose of the Principles is

described as, ‘fleshing out bones already present in the skeletal structure of the

uniform law’.232 The Principles 2010233 set out rules for international commercial

contracts and the preamble states that they will be applicable when parties have

agreed that the contract shall be governed by them.234 The Principles may also apply

when parties have decided their contract should be governed by general principles of

law such as the lex mercatoria,235 or alternatively have not chosen a law to govern

the contract.236 Furthermore they may be used to interpret and supplement

international and domestic laws.237

228
Alejandro Garro, ‘The Gap-Filling Role Of The UNIDROIT Principles In International Sales:
Some Comments on the Interplay Between the Principles and the CISG’ (1995) 69 Tul L Rev 1149,
1160.
229
ibid.
230
ibid.
231
The International Institute for the Unification of Private Law, ‘History and Overview’
(UNIDROIT, 2014) <[Link]/about-unidroit/overview> accessed 04 February 2014.
232
John Felemegas, An International Approach to the United Nations Convention on Contracts for
the International Sale of Goods (1980) as Uniform Sales Law (CUP 2007) 31; Felemegas attributes
this analogy to Albert Kitzer.
233
Earlier versions in 1994, 2004.
234
International Institute for the Unification of Private Law, ‘UNIDROIT Principles 2010’
(UNIDROIT, 2014) <[Link]/instruments/commercial-contracts/unidroit-principles-
2010/418-preamble/862-preamble-purpose-of-the-principles> accessed 04 February 2014.
235
Merchant law.
236
The International Institute for the Unification of Private Law, ‘UNIDROIT Principles 2010’
(UNIDROIT, 2014) <[Link]/instruments/commercial-contracts/unidroit-principles-
2010/418-preamble/862-preamble-purpose-of-the-principles> accessed 04 February 2014.
237
ibid.

85
 CHAPTER THREE: Background and Interpretation of the CISG

Although the Principles are not legally binding on any member states, their

flexibility offers advantages over the CISG including that the wording of difficult

terms such ‘hardship’ are clearly defined whereas in the CISG agreement could not

be reached.238 Furthermore, the non-binding nature of the Principles means that they

can be altered and amended to keep up with changes in international trade, whereas

the CISG would require agreement and ratification of any changes by all contracting

states, a prospect that is both daunting and unrealistic.239 The thesis compares both

the nature and scope of the Principles and the CISG in order to determine when it

would be legitimate to use the Principles as a means of resolving those issues which

are praeter legem240 within the CISG.241 In addressing this question, it is necessary

to examine the difference between rules and principles. The two concepts differ in

their application, rules are of a mandatory nature and set out the legal obligations of

the parties, the rule itself being strict and indivisible and therefore requiring

acceptance as a whole.242 Dworkin states that, ‘if the facts a rule stipulates are given,

then either the rule is valid, in which case the answer it supplies must be accepted, or

it is not, in which case it contributes nothing to the decision’.243 Principles on the

other hand fulfil a more abstract purpose than rules in that they carry an element of

justice or fairness, and such principles tend to underlie rules.244 This can be

observed in art 48(2) CISG which deals with the seller’s right to cure a breach, in

this provision the underlying principle of co-operation is present as the buyer must

238
UNIDROIT, art 6.2.2 states: ‘There is hardship where the occurrence of events fundamentally
alters the equilibrium of the contract either because the cost of a party's performance has increased or
because the value of the performance a party receives has diminished’; Garro (n 228) 1160.
239
Garro (n 228) 1164.
240
Internal gaps.
241
As opposed to intra legem (external gaps); Ferrari (n 66) 1; Sica (n 66) 1.
242
Ronald Dworkin, ‘The Model of Rules’ (1967) 35 Loy U Chi L Rev 14, 23; Sica (n 66) 8.
243
Dworkin (n 242) 23; Sica (n 66) 8.
244
ibid.

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 CHAPTER THREE: Background and Interpretation of the CISG

communicate with the seller otherwise he will lose his other remedies.245 It is on that

basis that the Principles can be used to fill in the gaps inherent in the CISG, as both

instruments are based on similar general principles such as fairness and

reasonableness and are more equally accessible to parties than national laws.246

Although it can be argued that recourse to the Principles as a means of gap

filling can be as dangerous to the goal of uniformity as resorting to domestic laws,

there is a subtle difference between the two approaches. When deciding if it is

legitimate to use the Principles to interpret the CISG, courts should look at the

drafters’ intent, and if this is not helpful then look to the underlying purpose of the

provision.247 Once this mechanism is exhausted, decision makers can resort to the

Principles as a means of interpretation.248 Therefore, the Principles cannot be used to

interpret the CISG simply because they are more detailed or desirable.249

The thesis proceeds on the premise that using the Principles, as a means of gap

filling in the CISG is legitimate, provided the internal mechanisms are exhausted; it

is more advantageous to use the Principles instead of domestic law if the

international character and uniformity of the CISG are to be protected. In particular,

as set out in the preamble, the Principles can supplement international uniform law

instruments and aid decision makers when faced with a gap in those instruments.250

The aim is to prevent decision makers from ‘falling back’ on national laws, to keep

rationales for judgments within the international sphere and ensure fairness to the

parties as they will both have equal access to the provisions.251

245
See discussion at chapter 6.3.2.
246
Garro (n 228) 1160; Boele-Woelki (n 4) 236.
247
Jacob Ziegel, ‘The UNIDROIT Contract Principles, CISG and National Law’ (UNIDROIT
Principles seminar, Venezuela November 1996) <[Link]/cisg/biblio/[Link]>
accessed 05 December 2013.
248
ibid.
249
ibid.
250
Garro (n 228) 1152.
251
ibid 1153.

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 CHAPTER THREE: Background and Interpretation of the CISG

Most scholars agree that the CISG and the Principles are complementary, both

advocating many of the same policies, such as good faith,252 party autonomy,

freedom of form, the remedy of cure, preventing trivial termination253 of the

contract, promoting mutual co-operation and the remedy of damages for foreseeable

breach of contract.254 The Principles can be used to guide interpretation of the CISG,

insofar as it does not contradict the parties’ intentions, mandatory law or any

usages.255 An example of how the Principles can be used to interpret and

supplement the buyer’s remedy of avoidance under the CISG is illustrated in

determining the existence of a fundamental breach.256 The CISG states that, ‘a

breach of contract committed by one of the parties is fundamental if it results in such

detriment to the other party as substantially to deprive him of what he is entitled to

expect under the contract’.257 However, it does not define what is meant by the term

‘substantially to deprive’.258 Conversely, the Principles go further and provide

several factors to be taken into account when determining fundamental non-

performance.259 Factors include: whether performance was of essence to the

contract,260 no reliance on future performance261 or intentional or reckless

performance amongst others.262 The latter criterion is a good example of when the

252
However in the UNIDROIT Principles 2010 good faith is referred to in the context of behaviour of
the parties (art 1.7), appropriate terms (art 4.8) and implied obligations (art 5.1.2).
253
Under the UNIDROIT Principles ‘termination’ has the same meaning as ‘avoidance’ under the
CISG.
254
Garro (n 228) 1165; Boele-Woelki (n 4) 203; Sica (n 66) 1.
255
Garro (n 228) 1156; Bridge (n 10) 82.
256
See discussion at chapter 5.1.2.
257
CISG, art 25.
258
Robert Koch, ‘Commentary on Whether the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial
Contracts may be used to Interpret or Supplement Article 25 CISG’ (IICL, 05 January 2005)
<[Link]/cisg/biblio/[Link]> accessed 14 January 2014.
259
Under the UNIDROIT Principles ‘non-performance’ has the same meaning as ‘breach’ under the
CISG.
260
UNIDROIT, art 7.3.1 (b).
261
UNIDROIT, art 7.3.1 (d).
262
See discussion at chapter 5.1.3; UNIDROIT, art 7.3.1 (c).

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Principles should not be applied to interpret the CISG, as the CISG makes it clear

that the behaviour of the parties is not a factor in determining fundamental breach.263

These instruments, while complementary, do contain differences in scope and

application and decision makers should be wary of using the Principles on matters

which the CISG deliberately did not want to cover.264 For instance the role of good

faith, as mentioned above, art 7(2) places the observance of good faith in the

interpretation of the CISG, whereas the Principles places the obligation on the

parties.265

Consequently, it is important that the Principles are only used to supplement and

guide interpretation of the CISG where the matter is governed but not expressly

settled in it. Furthermore the same general principles must underpin the rules of both

instruments and the use of the Principles cannot be contrary to mandatory law, the

parties’ intentions or any relevant usages. The last part of this chapter examines

English common law, in conjunction with the SGA dealing with the right to

terminate the contract. This examination responds to claims that English law is

better equipped to deal with international sale of goods contracts as it offers more

certainty and a swifter remedy.266

3.7 Background on English Law

In English contract law, the law relating to sale of goods is of paramount

importance to business as well as consumer contracts. The common law in

conjunction with the SGA operates to provide a framework within which goods are

bought and sold. The SGA 1979 (as amended), provides the current framework for

sale of goods contracts in the UK. The original statutory body of law was the Sale of

263
Germany 3 April 1996 Supreme Court (Cobalt sulphate case) (IICL, 15 November 2007)
<[Link] accessed 30 May 2014.
264
Michael Bonell, An International Restatement of Contract Law (Transnational 1997).
265
See discussion at chapter 5.1.3; UNIDROIT, art 1.7; Bonell (n 264).
266
Mullis (n 10) 137; Bridge (n 10) 55.

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Goods Act 1893, which codified the pre-existing common law.267 The Act

‘endeavoured to reproduce as exactly as possible the existing law, leaving any

amendments that might seem desirable to be introduced in Committee on the

authority of the legislature’.268 The 1979 Act was amended in 1994269 and 1995.270

The SGA provides the statutory framework for contracts of sale. Although most

provisions are mandatory271 some, such as the rules on passing of risk, can be

amended by the express agreement of the parties to the contract.272 Since its

enactment, the SGA has striven to protect the interests of consumers and businesses.

Under the SGA, consumer buyers are allowed a greater scope of remedies for a

breach of contract than their non-consumer counterparts.273 As the thesis and the

CISG are only concerned with commercial contracts the rights and remedies of

consumers under the SGA are excluded from the scope of examination.

3.7.1 English Law as a Method of Comparison

Although there is strong support for the use of the CISG to govern international

sale of goods contracts,274 some commentators maintain that the CISG is not suited

to these transactions.275 For instance Guest and Treitel, propose the use of English

law as it is dominant in the area.276 It is argued that if the CISG was applied to

international sales contracts currently governed by English law the effect would be

significantly different because the wording of the CISG’s provisions are too

267
John Adams and Hector Macqueen, Atiyah’s Sale of Goods (12th edn, Pearson 2010) 3.
268
Mackenzie Chalmers, Sale of Goods Act 1893 (W Clowes & Sons 1894).
269
Sale and Supply of Goods Act 1994 hereinafter referred to as the ‘SSGA’ 1994; Sale of Goods
(Amendment) Act 1995.
270
Sale of Goods (Amendment) Act 1995.
271
SGA, ss 12-15.
272
SGA, s 20.
273
SGA, ss 15A and 48A-F.
274
Peter Schlechtriem, Uniform Sales Law: The UN-Convention on Contracts for the International
Sale of Goods (Manz 1986) 115; Ingeborg Schwenzer and Pascal Hachem, ‘The CISG - Successes
and Pitfalls’ (2009) 57 Am J Comp L 457, 478.
275
Text to n 8; Bridge (n 39) 277; See also Hellner (n 39) 338.
276
A G Guest and Guenter Treitel, Benjamin’s Sale of Goods, (5th edn, Sweet & Maxwell 1997) 18-
004.

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 CHAPTER THREE: Background and Interpretation of the CISG

ambiguous and would cause uncertainty.277 English law is cited as being more

suitable to govern disputes involving the sale of commodity goods and documentary

sales because it has been used for centuries and there are specialist courts in

London.278 Bridge and Hellner argue that the CISG’s termination rights are stricter

than that of English law and are better suited to contracts where there is relatively

little volatility, rather than to commodities sales which require swift avoidance.279

English case law is often cited as one of the main reasons the UK has not adopted the

CISG.280

The thesis responds to these assertions by examining the English law on

termination of the contract and argues that even though English law has had longer

to develop than the CISG, there is still uncertainty in any law. It is only by

examining how the law is understood, interpreted and applied that uncertainty can be

minimised. The strength of English law as a means of governing international sale

of goods contracts lies in its well-developed judicial precedent which has evolved

over several centuries.281 However, this does not guarantee certainty, nor does it

further the aims of harmonisation where parties are located in different countries.282

If neither of the parties has their place of business in the UK, choosing English law

may place both parties at a disadvantage as only some issues are governed by the

SGA whereas others are governed by the common law. For example, documentary

sales is not covered in the SGA but rather on the rules built up in the common law.

Therefore, parties unfamiliar with English common law may find it difficult to

277
ibid.
278
Text to n 8; Fountoulakis (n 36) 306; Bruno Zeller, ‘Commodity Sales and the CISG’ in Camilla
Andersen & Ulrich Schroeter (eds), Sharing International Commercial Law across National
Boundaries: Festschrift for Albert H Kritzer on the Occasion of his Eightieth Birthday (Wildy,
Simmonds & Hill 2008) 627.
279
Bridge (n 26) 5; See also Hellner (n 39) 338.
280
Guest and Treitel (n 276); cf Fountoulakis (n 36) 306.
281
Mullis (n 10) 137.
282
Honka (n 11) 111.

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understand when they can lawfully terminate the contract for this type of breach.283

The thesis argues many of the criticisms aimed at the CISG, specifically the buyer’s

remedy of avoidance are without merit and upon examination of its provisions and

the decisions generated under it, the CISG is more than capable of dealing with

international sale of goods contracts. For instance, English law is cited as being

more suitable to deal with delivery terms such as ‘CIF’284 commonly used in

documentary commodity sales.285 Guest and Treitel argue that, ‘English law’s rules

on termination for breach in the context of CIF contracts lead to “clear and easily

predictable results”, adoption of the Convention would cause considerable

uncertainty’.286 This argument is unfounded as the CISG has interpreted these

delivery terms in light of art 8 dealing with the parties’ intent, as well as art 9 dealing

with usages and has arrived at the same conclusions as English law, that is, these

terms are to be interpreted as meaning time is of the essence and the buyer can avoid

the contract for a breach of these terms.287 The next section examines the remedy of

termination under English common law through the system of classification of terms

to determine when English law will permit lawful termination of the contract.

3.7.2 Classification of Terms

Although the CISG uses the criteria of fundamental breach 288 to permit lawful

avoidance of the contract, English law bases the right to terminate the contract using

a system of classification of terms. Contractual terms can either be classified as

conditions, warranties or intermediate (innominate) terms. It is important for parties

283
See discussion at chapter [Link].
284
‘Cost, Insurance, Freight’.
285
See discussion at chapter 1.2; Bridge (n 10) 55.
286
Guest and Treitel (n 276) 18-004; Mullis (n 10) 137.
287
See discussion at chapter 4.2 and 4.3; Germany 28 February 1997 Appellate Court Hamburg (Iron
molybdenum case) (IICL, 12 September 2007) <[Link]
accessed 15 October 2013; See also Leisinger (n 164) 139.
288
CISG, art 25.

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to correctly identify the status of terms in the event of a breach of contract, as the

type of term breached will establish the available remedy. A party may be allowed

to terminate the contract where the breach is repudiatory. 289 In Decro-Wall

International SA v Practitioners in Marketing Ltd Buckley LJ stated:

To constitute repudiation, the threatened breach must be such as to

deprive the injured party of a substantial part of the benefit to which he is
entitled under the contract. It has been said that the breach must be of an
essential term, or of a fundamental term of the contract, or that it must go
to the root of the contract…Will the consequences of the breach be such
that it would be unfair to the injured party to hold him to the contract and
leave him to his remedy in damages as when a breach or breaches may
occur? If this would be so, then a repudiation has taken place.290

Although at one time there was support in the common law for the application of a

‘fundamental term’ meaning a core obligation of the contract, as mentioned in the

dictum of Buckley LJ, the courts have since rejected this approach. 291 In Suisse

Atlantique Societe d'Armament SA v NV Rotterdamsche Kolen Centrale Lord Upjohn

argued:

[t]here is no magic in the words “fundamental breach”; this expression is

no more than a convenient shorthand expression for saying that a
particular breach or breaches of contract by one party is or are such as to
go to the root of the contract which entitles the other party to treat such
breach or breaches as a repudiation of the whole contract. Whether such
breach or breaches do constitute a fundamental breach depends on the
construction of the contract and on all the facts and circumstances of the
case.292

Therefore, a ‘fundamental term’ is treated in the same way as a term classified as a

condition.293 Section 11(3) SGA states that a contract can be terminated if the term

broken is a condition, that is, its breach goes to the ‘root’ of the contract.294 Put

289
Mindy Chen-Wishart, Contract Law (2nd edn, OUP 2008) 505.
290
[1971] 1 WLR 361, 380.
291
Hugh Beale, Chitty on Contracts (31st edn, Sweet and Maxwell 2012) 12-024.
292
[1967] AC 361, 421 - 422.
293
Beale (n 291) 12-024.
294
Chen-Wishart (n 289) 505.

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another way, such a term is essential to the contract so, if it is broken, the aggrieved

party has the right to bring the contract to an end and claim damages or, alternatively

s 11(2) allows the party to affirm the contract and claim damages.295 A term may be

classed as a condition by statute296 or, alternatively, by the parties’ intention and the

role of the term in the contract. An example of conditions implied by statute can be

found in ss 12-15 SGA.297 For instance s 13 deals with breaches of description and s

14 with quality and fitness of the goods, these provisions will be discussed later in

the chapter.298 A term may also be a condition where it is the parties’ intention that

it should go to the root of the contract. In Lombard North Central Plc v Butterworth

it was held that the term relating to prompt payment was a condition of the contract

as discerned from the wording of the agreement.299 However, not every use of the

word ‘condition’ will entitle the party to terminate the contract. For example, in

Schuler AG v Wickman Machine Tool Sales Ltd it was held that despite the fact the

contract had used the word ‘condition’, the parties actually intended it to be a

warranty and so the innocent party was unable to terminate the contract on grounds

of the term’s breach.300 It is interesting to note that the English common law will

automatically treat time stipulations in some commercial contracts as conditions.

Although s 10(1) SGA states that, ‘stipulations as to time of payment are not of the

essence of a contract of sale’, s 10(2) states, ‘whether any other stipulation as to time

is or is not of the essence of the contract depends on the terms of the contract’. In

Bunge Corporation v Tradax it was held that the time for notice of readiness to load

the goods was a condition; the need for certainty in commercial contracts justified

295
Paul Todd, Cases and Materials on International Trade Law (1st edn, Thomson 2002 ) 333; Jill
Poole, Textbook on Contract Law (9th edn, OUP 2008) 242.
296
See discussion below at chapter 3.7.4.
297
Poole (n 295) 243.
298
See discussion at chapter 3.7.4.
299
[1987] 2 WLR 7; SGA, s 11(3).
300
[1973] 2 WLR 683.

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this approach.301 This approach was applied in Maredelanto Compania Naviera SA

v Bergbau-Handel GmbH (The Mihalis Angelos)302 and confirmed in The Naxos.303

The courts also take a strict approach to time stipulations in commercial sales where

the shipping documents are tendered late.304 However, in Torvald Klaveness A/S v

Arni Maritime Corp (The Gregos)305 a case that dealt with the redelivery of a vessel

at the end of a charterparty, Lord Mustill stated that stipulations as to time in this

situation was not a condition. He contends that conditions were:

[l]argely determined by its practical importance in the scheme of the

contract, and this is not easily judged in relation to the obligation to
redeliver, since the occasions for the cancellation of a charter on the
ground of a few days’ delay at the end of the chartered service are likely
to be few.306

Thus, not all time stipulations in commercial contracts will be treated as conditions

as the English courts are wary of contracting parties using this position to escape a

bad bargain or manipulate market prices and instead may use the approach that

sometimes stipulations should be treated as intermediate or innominate terms.307

The second category of terms is warranties. Under the English common law

warranties have been described as minor or lesser terms of the contract because they

do not go to the root of the contract. A breach of warranty does not allow the party

to terminate the contract.308 The only remedy for a breach of warranty is a claim for

damages. Section 61(1) SGA describes warranties as being collateral to the main

purpose of the contract. Section 53 SGA deals with the buyer’s right to claim

damages for a breach of warranty, stipulating that the buyer is not permitted to reject

301
[1981] 1 WLR 711.
302
[1971] 1 QB 164.
303
Cie Commerciale Sucrés et Denrés v C Czarnikow Ltd (The Naxos) [1990] 1WLR 1337.
304
Toepfer v Lenersan-Poortman [1981] 1 Lloyd's Rep 143.
305
[1994] 1 WLR 1465.
306
[1994] 1 WLR 1465, 1475.
307
[1994] 1 WLR 1465.
308
Poole (n 295) 242.

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such goods but may make a claim for damages which is prima facie the difference in

value between the value of the goods when they were delivered and the value of the

goods if they had fulfilled the warranty.

The third category of terms are referred to as intermediate or innominate terms.

The traditional approach of the courts in classifying terms as conditions or warranties

on their construction, that is, does it go to the root of the contract, proved to be too

simplistic as it was not always easy to determine if the contract was silent or

ambiguous on the matter or where a minor term of the contract resulted in serious

consequences for continued performance. Innominate terms are neither

distinguishable on their construction as a condition or warranty; rather, what needs to

be looked at is whether one party has been deprived substantially of the whole

benefit which it was intended it would receive.309 Only where the innocent party is

substantially deprived of the whole benefit, will they be entitled to treat the contract

as at an end, otherwise only a claim for damages can be made. 310 This term was

developed under the common law in the case of Hong Kong Fir Shipping Co v

Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha,311 where the owners hired the ship out to the defendants for

a period of 24 months. The ship was unseaworthy and needed some 20 weeks of

repairs; the courts stated that unseaworthiness gives a right to damages but not an

automatic right to terminate unless the breach deprived the injured party of

substantially the whole benefit of the bargain.312 The innominate term approach

helps to avoid termination of the contract for slight or technical breaches.313 A

breach of condition will entitle the injured party to repudiate the contract,

309
Todd (n 295) 506.
310
Chen-Wishart (n 289) 506.
311
[1962] 2 QB 26.
312
[1962] 2 QB 26.
313
Reardon Smith Line Ltd v Hansen-Tangen (The Diana Prosperity) [1976] 1 WLR 989; cf Arcos
Ltd v EA Ronaasen & Son [1933] AC 470.

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irrespective of the actual consequences, whereas innominate terms consider the

‘gravity of the breach’.314 Repudiation can be risky if the injured party makes a

wrongful repudiation he can be sued by the other party.315 This point was illustrated

in the case Gill & Duffus SA v Berger & Co Inc316 where in a ‘CIF’ contract the

buyer wrongfully rejected and refused to pay against documents that were

conforming to the contract when the physical goods arrived and were found to be

non-conforming. This was contrary to the well-established principle that ‘CIF’

contracts allow for rejection in two circumstances, first the buyer can only reject the

documents if they are non-conforming, he cannot reject conforming documents on

the knowledge that the goods are non-conforming.317 If the goods are non-

conforming that will give rise to a separate rejection right. The court held that the

buyer’s wrongful repudiation entitled the seller to be relieved of their primary

obligations under the contract.318

Innominate terms, when applied to international sale of goods, creates

uncertainty for the parties as it is difficult to predict how courts will interpret these

terms.319 This is demonstrated in Cehave NV v Bremer Handelgesellschaft mbH

(The Hansa Nord)320 where the contract stipulated ‘shipment to be made in good

condition’. The buyer sought to reject the goods on the basis of non-conformity and

as a result of this repudiation the seller resold the goods on the market. The price for

the goods had fallen greatly and the buyer was able to repurchase the goods at the

much lower price and use them for the purpose intended, albeit as a slightly lower

quality than was originally intended. The court held that the words ‘shipment to be

314
Todd (n 295) 333.
315
ibid 437.
316
[1984] AC 382.
317
Bridge (n 26) 437.
318
[1984] AC 382.
319
Mullis (n 10) 137.
320
[1976] QB 44.

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made in good condition’ was not a condition but rather an innominate term and as it

had no serious consequences the buyer was not entitled to repudiate the contract.321

The next part of this chapter will examine the scope and application of the SGA,

specifically the implied terms that allow the parties to repudiate the contract.

3.7.3 Scope of Sale of Goods Act 1979

The SGA applies to all contracts for the sale of goods.322 Yet it differs to the

CISG, specifically the SGA governs consumer contracts,323 auctions,324 sales on

judicial or administrative execution,325 electricity, ships, vessels, hovercraft or

aircraft all of which are excluded under the CISG. Both instruments mutually

exclude sales of: stocks, shares, investment securities, negotiable instruments or

money.326 Furthermore, both the SGA and the CISG allow for the sale of existing as

well as future goods.327 Section 2(1) SGA defines a contract of sale as follows: ‘A

contract of sale of goods is a contract by which the seller transfers or agrees to

transfer the property in goods to the buyer for a money consideration, called the

price’. Under the CISG there is no requirement of consideration to enforce the

contract, art 29 CISG stating that ‘A contract may be modified or terminated by the

mere agreement of the parties’. Furthermore, there is no mention of the requirement

of consideration in the CISG’s rules on formation of the contract.328 The thesis

agrees with the approach to exclude consideration from the scope of the CISG as it is

a uniquely common law requirement. Since one of the aims of the CISG is to

321
See discussion at chapter 5.1.4; [1976] QB 44.
322
SGA, s 1; With the exception of SGA, s 14 SGA which only applies to sales in the ‘course of
business’.
323
SGA, s 61(1).
324
SGA, s 57.
325
Subject to SGA, s 21(2)(b).
326
SGA, s 61(1); CISG, art 2(d).
327
SGA, s 5; CISG, art 3 (1).
328
Petra Butler, ‘The Doctrines of Parol Evidence Rule and Consideration-a Deterrence to the
Common Law Lawyer?’ (Celebrating Success: 25 Years United Nations Convention on Contracts for
the International Sale of Goods, Singapore, September 2005).

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 CHAPTER THREE: Background and Interpretation of the CISG

promote uniformity, the use of national concepts would deter from this aim.

Furthermore, the CISG only deals with commercial contracts and thus it is implicit

that there will be a price paid in exchange for the goods.

3.7.4 Interpretation of the Implied Conditions

The implied terms in ss 12-15 SGA apply to all contracts of sale

notwithstanding the nature of the goods and these terms are treated as conditions of

the contract.329 Section 12(1) stipulates that it is ‘an implied on the part of the seller

that in the case of a sale he has a right to sell the goods, and in the case of an

agreement to sell he will have such a right at the time when the property is to pass’.

This term is implied into all contracts of sale regardless of whether the seller is in the

course of business or a private seller.330 The liability for a breach of s 12(1) cannot

be excluded or restricted by the seller under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977.331

The right to sell the goods does not mean that the seller is the owner of the goods.332

For example, the seller may be given the goods to sell by the true owner of the

goods. Alternatively, the seller may physically own the goods but is restricted from

selling the goods due to some other claim over them.333 In Niblett Ltd v

Confectioners Materials Co Ltd the defendants were an American company that had

contracted to sell 3,000 cans of ‘Nissly’ brand condensed milk.334 The goods were

confiscated by the customs authorities on arrival in the UK as they infringed the

copyright of the Nestlé company.335 It was held that the defendants were liable for a

329
With the exception of SGA, s 14 which only applies if the seller is in the course of business; See
also Nicholas Ryder, Margaret Griffiths and Lachmi Singh, Commercial Law Principles and Policy
(CUP 2012) 79.
330
Ryder, Griffiths and Singh (n 329) 80.
331
The CISG does not deal with unfair terms such matters are left to national laws; Hereinafter
referred to as ‘UCTA’; UCTA, s 6(1).
332
Ryder, Griffiths and Singh (n 329) 81.
333
ibid.
334
[1921] 3 KB 387.
335
Niblett Ltd v Confectioners Materials Co Ltd [1921] 3 KB 387.

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 CHAPTER THREE: Background and Interpretation of the CISG

breach of s 12(1) as they did not have the legal right to sell the goods in the UK.336

The remedy for a breach of this section is a full refund of the purchase price as a

breach would constitute a total failure of consideration, in the sense that without

good title the buyer has received nothing of value under the contract.337 The buyer is

not under a duty to account monetarily to the seller for any benefit received from the

use of the goods.338 The application of s 12 means that if the seller has no good title

to pass to the buyer at the time of sale then English law treats this as if nothing has

been delivered under the contract. The buyer is entitled to rescind the contract upon

discovering that the breach has occurred and can claim a full refund of the contract

price. The CISG is not dissimilar in its approach for breaches for defective title,

Schroeter argues that, ‘a failure to deliver goods owing to objective or subjective

impossibility probably always represents a fundamental breach of contract’.339 He

supports this by citing the example of the seller being unable to transfer property in

the goods.340 Although both instruments allow for avoidance or termination of the

contract, the consequences resulting from the breach of s 12 SGA could lead to

unsatisfactory results if the buyer has made use of the goods for a period of time and

has benefitted or profited from this use. Over a period of time the goods may have

depreciated in value and under the SGA the buyer will not have to account for this

benefit or use. In Butterworth v Kingsway Motors Ltd the buyer had eleven and a

half months use of a car when they discovered that the hirer under a hire-purchase

agreement had wrongly sold the car to another party who in turn sold it to the

336
ibid.
337
Ryder, Griffiths and Singh (n 329) 82.
338
Butterworth v Kingsway Motors Ltd [1954] 1 WLR 1286; Law Commission, Sale and Supply of
Goods (Law Com No 160, 1987).
339
Ulrich Schroeter, ‘Article 25’ in Ingeborg Schwenzer (ed), Commentary on the UN Convention on
the International Sale of Goods (CISG) (3rd edn, OUP 2010) 417.
340
Ibid 409; See also Germany 22 August 2002 District Court Freiburg (Automobile case) (IICL, 07
December 2006) <[Link] accessed 01 August 2014.

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claimant.341 In that time the car which was worth £1275 when purchased had

depreciated to a value of £800, yet the buyer was entitled to recover the full price.

Upon review by the Law Commission, it was decided that the issue of unjust

enrichment was too complex to be included in the SGA and furthermore it would not

be fair to expect the buyer to pay the seller for the use of property belonging to

somebody else.342 The thesis argues that the CISG’s provisions on the consequences

of avoidance are more detailed and offer a fairer solution to both parties. Article

81(2) CISG states that both parties are bound to make restitution of any part of the

contract that had been performed. Furthermore art 84(1) CISG requires the seller to

refund the contract price, payable with interest from the date on which it was paid.

Article 84(2) CISG places an obligation on the buyer to account to the seller for all

benefits which he has received from the use of the goods. 343 Thus neither party has

an unfair advantage over the other.

The next implied condition to be examined is s 13 SGA which stipulates that,

‘where there is a contract for the sale of goods by description, there is an implied

term that the goods will correspond with the description’. Section 13 will apply to

all contracts for the sale of goods regardless of whether the seller is a business or a

private seller.344 A ‘sale by description’ can include goods sold on the internet, by

catalogue, future or bespoke goods.345 A sale by description can also be applied

where the buyer has seen the actual goods, in Grant v Australian Knitting Mills

Ltd346 Lord Wright stated that, ‘even though the buyer is buying something displayed

before him on the counter: a thing is sold by description, though it is specific, so

341
[1954] 1 WLR 1286.
342
Law Commission, Sale and Supply of Goods (Law Com No 160, 1987).
343
See discussion at chapter 2.4.5 and 7.2.3.
344
Ryder, Griffiths and Singh (n 329) 85.
345
ibid.
346
[1936] AC 85.

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long as it is sold not merely as the specific thing but as a thing corresponding to a

description’.347 However, the buyer must be relying on the description in order to

claim a breach of s 13, if the buyer makes it clear that only those specific goods will

suffice, then the sale cannot be a sale by description.348 To meet the threshold of a

breach of condition the words forming the description must identify the goods in

some manner. In Ashington Piggeries Ltd v Christopher Hill Ltd349 Lord Diplock

stated:

The “description”… is, in my view, confined to those words in the

contract which were intended by the parties to identify the kind of goods
which were to be supplied … Ultimately the test is whether the buyer
could fairly and reasonably refuse to accept the physical goods proffered
to him on the ground that their failure to correspond with that part of
what was said about them in the contract makes them goods of a
different kind from those he had agreed to buy. The key to s.13 is
identification.350

In Reardon Smith Line Ltd v Hansen-Tangen (The Diana Prosperity)351 the claim for

a breach of description failed as the shipyard number was not relevant to the

identification of the ship itself. It used to be the position in English law that if there

was a breach of description, even if slight or technical, this allowed the non-

breaching party to terminate the contract. In Arcos Ltd v Ronaasen & Son352 the

buyer was allowed to reject the goods where the contract called for staves half an

inch thick. However, when delivered, the majority of staves exceeded this

measurement. This was a repudiatory breach even though the goods could still be

used for their purpose.353 Similarly in Re Moore & Co Ltd v Landauer & Co Ltd354

the buyer sought to reject the goods as the cans were packed in cases of 24 instead of
347
Grant v Australian Knitting Mills Ltd [1936] AC 85, 100; Beale v Taylor [1967] 1 WLR 1193; See
also SGA, s 13(3).
348
Harlington & Leinster v Christopher Hull Fine Art [1991] 1 QB 564.
349
[1972] 1 AC 441.
350
Ashington Piggeries Ltd v Christopher Hill Ltd [1972] 1 AC 441, 503.
351
[1976] 1 WLR 989.
352
[1933] AC 470.
353
Arcos Ltd v Ronaasen & Son [1933] AC 470.
354
[1921] 2 KB 519.

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30 as stated in the contract. The buyer succeeded even though the packaging of the

cans did not affect the overall volume and value of the goods. 355 A breach of s 13

allows the buyer the right to reject the goods. However, where the buyer is a non-

consumer this right has been restricted to exclude those cases where ‘the breach is so

slight that it would be unreasonable for him to reject them’. 356 In such cases the

buyer is only restricted to a claim for damages. This amendment was inserted by

virtue of the SSGA 1994 and in the case of a non-consumer, s 15A SGA would only

permit rejection of the goods where the breach is serious. It is for the seller to prove

that it would be unreasonable for the buyer to reject the goods.357 As such, cases like

Arcos Ltd v Ronaasen & Son358 and Re Moore & Co Ltd v Landauer & Co Ltd359

might be decided differently today. Although the SGA does not define the term

‘non-consumer’, s 61 SGA defines a business as, ‘a profession and the activities of

any government department…or local or public authority’. Furthermore s 61 states

that a consumer contract, ‘has the same meaning as in Section 25(1) of the Unfair

Contract Terms Act 1977’. Section 25(1) UCTA states that, ‘the consumer does not

deal or hold himself out as dealing, in the course of a business and…the goods are of

a type ordinarily supplied for private use or consumption’.360 For the purposes of

UCTA a business could be a consumer. For example, in R&B Customs Brokers Co

Ltd v United Dominions Trust Ltd361 the buyer, a director of a company, bought a car

for personal as well as business use. The contract contained an exclusion clause that

‘any warranty or condition as to condition, description, quality or fitness for any

particular purpose was excluded from the contract of sale unless the buyer was

355
[1921] 2 KB 519.
356
SGA, s 15A.
357
SGA, s 15A(3).
358
[1933] AC 470.
359
[1921] 2 KB 519.
360
UCTA, s 12.
361
[1988] 1 WLR 321.

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dealing as a consumer.’362 It was held that the company had not held itself out as

making the contract in the course of business, and on the facts, the necessary degree

of regularity had not been shown, the company was thus dealing as a consumer

within the meaning of UCTA, and therefore the implied term could not be

excluded.363 In the case of non-consumers, s 6(3) UCTA permits the use of an

exclusion of liability clause with regard to s 13 SGA if it satisfies the requirement of

reasonableness. The test of reasonableness is set out in s 11 UCTA it states:

[whether] a contract term satisfies the requirement of reasonableness,

regard shall be had in particular to the matters specified in Schedule 2 to
this Act; but this subsection does not prevent the court or arbitrator from
holding, in accordance with any rule of law, that a term which purports
to exclude or restrict any relevant liability is not a term of the contract.364

Schedule 2 UCTA sets out a non-exhaustive list of guidelines for the courts to

consider when deciding if the term is reasonable, including: the bargaining strength

of the parties, inducements to agree to the term, whether the other party knew or

ought to have known of the term, whether it was practical for the condition to be

complied with and if the goods were made to the specifications of the buyer.

The CISG also allows for avoidance365 of the contract where there is a breach of

description, as this would amount to non-conformity,366 and if the non-conformity

met the criteria of fundamental breach367 the buyer would be entitled to avoid the

contract. As s 15A SGA restricts the right to reject the goods to serious breaches of

description, one could argue that the approaches under the two instruments are not

altogether dissimilar, in the sense that a party cannot escape his obligations for trivial

362
[1988] 1 WLR 321.
363
[1988] 1 WLR 321.
364
UCTA, s 11(2).
365
CISG, art 49 (1)(a).
366
CISG, art 35(1) states: ‘The seller must deliver goods which are of the quantity, quality and
description required by the contract and which are contained or packaged in the manner required by
the contract’.
367
CISG, art 25.

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breaches. Mullis argues that s 15A is unlikely to have an impact on international

sale of goods transactions, in particular ‘CIF’ contracts as s 15A(2) states that the

section will not apply if a ‘contrary intention appears in, or is to be implied from, the

contract’.368 This approach even if discernible from the contract, does not give

English law an advantage over the CISG as the latter also has these mechanisms for

determining intent and setting standards for conformity, including arts 6, 8 and 9

CISG.369

Both English law and the CISG allow a wide meaning to be attributed to the

word ‘description’. In Ashington Piggeries Lord Diplock stated that the key to

description was whether the words identified the goods in some manner.370 These

could include: weight, dimensions, make, model, trademark etc. The CISG on the

other hand has permitted a breach of description in cases involving physical as well

as intangible characteristics.371 Henschel argues that:

The starting point is that there are no limits to the contractual

requirements which the parties may agree with respect to the goods, for
example, that the goods may not be made by child workers, that the
goods should be produced in an environmentally-friendly way ... that the
goods should satisfy the special safety and environmental requirements
of the buyer's country, etc. Only the imaginations of the parties and
mandatory public law rules can set limits to what can be validly
agreed.372

Thus under the CISG the principles of party autonomy373 and parties’ intent374 would

mean that parties were free to decide what characteristics would form part of the

description. One of the main divergences in the approach of the SGA when

368
Mullis (n 10) 137.
369
See discussion at chapter 4.
370
Ashington Piggeries Ltd v Christopher Hill Ltd [1972] 1 AC 441.
371
Belgium 4 June 2004 District Court Kortrijk (Steinbock-Bjonustan EHF v NV Duma) (IICL, 15
February 2005) <[Link] accessed 05 August 2014.
372
Ren Henschel, Conformity of Goods in International Sales (GadJura 2005) 162; Kristian Maley,
‘The Limits to the Conformity of Goods in the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the
International Sale of Goods (CISG)’ (2009) International Trade & Business Law Review 82, 103.
373
CISG, art 6.
374
CISG, art 8.

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compared to the CISG, is that s 13 SGA deals exclusively with breach of description

and not breach of quality. The latter is dealt with under s 14 SGA. The courts have

interpreted this distinction very clearly and while a breach of ss 13 and 14 SGA may

arise out of the same set of facts375 they are dealt with separately under the statute.

In Ashington Piggeries a sale of ‘Norwegian Herring Meal’ contaminated with a

poisonous toxin was held not to be a breach of description as it could still meet its

description albeit not of a merchantable quality, therefore this was not a breach of s

13 SGA.376 This is relevant to international sale of goods transactions as s 14 deals

with a breach of quality, this section only applies where the seller is in the course of

business, which will not be an issue for international sale of goods contracts as

sellers are in the course of business.377 However, if the sales contract contains an

exclusion clause378 with regard to conformity for quality the buyer could find

themselves unable to reject the goods if there is no claim for a breach of

description.379 The CISG does not distinguish between quality and description and

both breaches are embodied in art 35(1) CISG which states that, ‘the seller must

deliver goods which are of the quantity, quality and description required by the

contract and which are contained or packaged in the manner required by the

contract’. The buyer will be able to avoid the contract for a breach of this provision

if it is a fundamental breach.380 Furthermore the matter of exclusion clauses,

although not expressly mentioned in the CISG, falls under the purview of art 6 which

allows the parties to derogate from or vary any of the provisions of the CISG.381 The

375
Cotter v Luckie [1918] NZLR 811 ‘polled Angus bull’ was impotent and unable to breed.
376
Ashington Piggeries Ltd v Christopher Hill Ltd [1972] 1 AC 441.
377
Also the thesis and the CISG are only concerned with commercial contracts.
378
UCTA, s 6(2).
379
Ryder, Griffiths and Singh (n 329) 89.
380
See discussion at chapter [Link]; CISG, art 25.
381
See discussion at chapter 4.1; Subject to CISG, art 12 which states: ‘Any provision of article 11,
article 29 or Part II of this Convention that allows a contract of sale or its modification or termination
by agreement or any offer, acceptance or other indication of intention to be made in any form other

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exclusion of these provisions is not dependent on the test of reasonableness, as is the

standard of s 11 UCTA, rather it is more decisive and is based on the clear

agreement of the parties.382

Section 14 SGA is the implied term as to quality and fitness of the goods.

Section 14(2) states that, ‘where the seller sells goods in the course of a business,

there is an implied term that the goods supplied under the contract are of satisfactory

quality’. The test of quality was amended by the SSGA 1994, where the requirement

of ‘merchantability’ was replaced by ‘satisfactory quality’ to make it more flexible to

accommodate a wider range of sales contracts.383 The test is an objective one ‘taking

account of any description of the goods, the price (if relevant) and all the other

relevant circumstances’.384 Section 14(2B) states that quality includes, fitness for all

common purposes as well as other factors where relevant, these include appearance

and finish, freedom from minor defects, safety and durability. 385 The provisions of s

14 will only apply where the seller is in the course of business, thus excluding

private sellers.386 Section 14(2C) sets out the circumstances where the implied

condition will not apply: if the defect has been brought to the buyer’s attention

before the contract was formed, where the buyer has examined the goods and that

examination ought to have revealed the defect and in a sale by sample, any defect

which would have been discernible on a reasonable examination of the goods.

Section 14(3) states that the goods must be fit for any particular purpose that the

than in writing does not apply where any party has his place of business in a Contracting State which
has made a declaration under article 96 of this Convention. The parties may not derogate from or vary
the effect or this article’.
382
Netherlands 2 January 2007 Appellate Court Hertogenbosch (GWA Bernards v Carstenfelder
Baumschulen Pflanzenhandel GmbH) (IICL, 25 May 2010)
<[Link] accessed 04 August 2014; See also Daan Dokter,
‘Interpretation of exclusion-clauses of the Vienna Sales Convention’ (2004) 68 Rabels Z 430.
383
Law Commission, Sale and Supply of Goods (Law Com No 160, 1987) 3.11; Ryder, Griffiths and
Singh (n 329) 94.
384
SGA, s 14(2A).
385
SGA, s 14(2B) (b-e).
386
SGA, s 14(2); Stevenson v Rogers [1999] 2 WLR 1064.

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buyer has expressly or impliedly made known to the seller. It must be reasonable for

the buyer to rely on the seller’s expertise. In Slater v Finning Ltd387 the goods had a

defect of which neither party was aware; the court decided that it would be

unreasonable in such circumstances to hold the seller liable.388 Similar to s 13, a

breach of s 14 would only permit the non-consumer buyer to reject the goods if the

breach was not so slight as to be unreasonable, otherwise the breach is treated as a

warranty and the buyer can only claim damages.389 In the case of a non-consumer

buyer, any term purporting to exclude liability for a breach of s 14 must satisfy the

test of reasonableness under s 11 of UCTA. 390

An in-depth examination of the provisions and case law dealing with breaches

for quality of the goods under the CISG will be carried out in chapter five.391

However, at this stage it is necessary to draw a few comparisons with s 14 SGA to

see how the two instruments match up with regard to stipulations as to quality. As

mentioned earlier, stipulations as to quality are covered under art 35 CISG, which

permits the buyer to reject the goods and avoid the contract392 if the breach of quality

amounts to a fundamental breach of contract.393 Although art 35 does not expressly

stipulate the standards of quality the goods must possess, the legislative history of

the provision394 in addition to scholarly material395 and case law396 indicates using

the objective standard of what is ‘reasonably expected’ to determine if the goods are

387
[1996] 3 WLR 190.
388
[1996] 3 WLR 190.
389
SGA, s 15A.
390
UCTA, s 6(3).
391
See discussion at chapter 5.2.7.
392
CISG, art 49(1)(a).
393
CISG, art 25.
394
Pace Law School Institute of International Commercial Law, ‘Guide to CISG Article 35’ (IICL, 29
August 2006) <[Link]/cisg/text/secomm/[Link]> accessed 15 June 2014.
395
Cesare Massimo Bianca, ‘Article 35’ in Cesare Massimo Bianca and Michael Joachim Bonell
(eds), Commentary on the International Sales Law (Giuffrè 1987) 281.
396
Netherlands 15 October 2002 Netherlands Arbitration Institute Case No 2319 (Condensate crude
oil mix case) (IICL, 12 November 2007) <[Link] accessed
18 June 2014.

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conforming to the contract. The standard of reasonableness takes into account the

terms of the contract, the parties’ intent and the price amongst other factors.397

Article 35(2)(a) states that the goods are not conforming unless they are fit for

purposes that goods of the same description would ordinarily be used. This provision

is comparable to s 14(2B)(a) SGA, however s 14(2B)(b-e) provides a non-exhaustive

list of factors to take into account when assessing the quality of the goods. The

thesis argues although the CISG does not explicitly state these factors, if interpreted

correctly, these factors are certainly all attributes of quality. For example the case

law has dealt with issues covering safety,398 durability399 and minor defects.400

Bridge agrees with this contention and states that art 35 ‘substantially tracks its

counterpart in English law’.401 Article 35 also includes provisions for any special

purpose for the goods made known to the seller at the time of the conclusion of the

contract, unless it was unreasonable for the buyer to rely on the seller’s skill or

expertise.402 Furthermore, art 35(3) states that the seller will not be liable for the

non-conformity if at the conclusion of the contract the buyer ‘knew or could not have

been unaware of such lack of conformity’. Therefore the wording of art 35(3) may

be more favourable to the buyer than English law. Under the latter, if the buyer

examines the goods and fails to notice the defect they will be unable to rely on the

non-conformity.403

The last implied term in the SGA is found in s 15 which deals with the seller’s

liability in cases of sale by sample. Section 15(2) states that the quality of the goods

397
Bianca (n 395) 281.
398
Germany 2 March 2005 Federal Supreme Court (Frozen pork case) (IICL, 29 May 2008)
<[Link] accessed 18 June 2014.
399
Germany 27 February 2002 District Court München (Globes case) (IICL, 21 February 2007)
<[Link] accessed 11 July 2014.
400
Spain 17 January 2008 Supreme Court (Used automobiles case) (IICL, 04 June 2009)
<[Link] accessed 15 June 2014.
401
Bridge (n 26) 560.
402
CISG, art 35(2)(b).
403
Bridge (n 26) 563.

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has to correspond to the quality of the sample404 and the goods are to be free from

any defect which a reasonable examination of the sample would not have

revealed.405 Section 15A SGA will also apply to s 15 in the same manner as ss13-

14, equally exclusion clauses are only permitted if the term satisfies the test of

reasonableness.406 Although the CISG does not expressly mention sales by sample,

art 35(c) CISG requires that the quality of goods correspond to the sample.

Under s 35 SGA the buyer will lose the right to reject the goods if he has been

deemed to have accepted them. Notwithstanding the time required to examine the

goods407 the buyer will be deemed to accept the goods where: ‘he intimates to the

seller that he has accepted them’,408 after a reasonable lapse of time and he has

retained the goods in his possession without indicating to the seller that he will reject

them409 or ‘when the goods have been delivered to him and he does any act in

relation to them which is inconsistent with the ownership of the seller’.410 A request

for repair or disposing of the goods to a sub buyer is not an act of acceptance barring

rejection.411

Under art 49(2)(b)(i) CISG the buyer will lose the right to avoid the contract if

declaration of avoidance is not made within a reasonable time ‘after he knew or

ought to have known of the breach’. Alternatively he will lose the right to avoid the

contract if declaration of avoidance is not made within a reasonable time after the

expiration of any additional period412 of time fixed for performance413 or on the

404
SGA, s 15(2)(a).
405
SGA, s 15(2)(c); Mody v Gregson (1868) 4 Ex 49.
406
UCTA, s 6(3).
407
SGA, s 35(2).
408
SGA, s 35(1) (a).
409
SGA, s 35(4).
410
SGA, s 35(1) (b).
411
SGA, s 35(6).
412
CISG, art 47(1).
413
CISG, art 49(2)(b)(ii).

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expiration of any time set by the seller under art 48(2) CISG.414 Therefore CISG’s

approach to the loss of the buyer’s right to reject the goods and avoid the contract is

broader than that of s 35 SGA. Thus, from this comparison it can be concluded that

the CISG’s rules on breaches of quality of the goods are similar to its English

counterpart or in some cases it provides greater flexibility. This issue will be

examined further in chapter five of the thesis.415

3.7.5 How do the Two Instruments Differ?

The two instruments have comparable provisions on the issues discussed above

and in some cases the CISG may prove to be more straightforward in its application

to sale of goods contracts. Therefore, while ss 12-15 SGA are implied statutory

conditions which allow the buyer to reject the goods and treat the contract as

repudiated, the exercise of these rights will be restricted by ss 15A and 35 SGA and

in some cases by exclusion clauses in the contract.416 The CISG does not contain

any express provisions to deal with exclusion clauses, however the principle of party

autonomy under art 6 permits parties the right to include them in the sales contract.

Article 4 stipulates that the validity of these clauses will be governed by the

applicable domestic law. It is important at this stage to point out some of the

differences in the two instruments. Firstly, the breaches relating to ss 13-15 SGA

deal with conformity of description, quality and fitness for purpose and

correspondence to sample respectively. Under the CISG these breaches all fall under

the general heading of non-conformity in art 35 CISG. Article 38 CISG requires that

the goods be examined within a ‘short a period as is practicable in the

circumstances’, following from this a breach of conformity requires that the buyer

give the seller notice of the non-conformity within a reasonable time otherwise he
414
CISG, art 49(2)(b)(iii).
415
See discussion at chapter [Link].
416
These exclude SGA, s 12.

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will lose the right to rely on it.417 Secondly, if the non-conformity is a fundamental

breach418 the buyer must also give a separate notice to the seller if he wishes to avoid

the contract.419 Section 34 SGA requires that the seller ‘is bound on request to afford

the buyer a reasonable opportunity of examining the goods for the purpose of

ascertaining whether they are in conformity with the contract’. There is however no

counterpart in English law that the buyer give notice of the non-conformity or notice

of avoidance. The thesis argues that the notice provisions in the CISG are not a

hindrance to international trade but rather that they serve to promote certainty and

avoid economic waste.420 The notice of non-conformity may provide the seller with

the opportunity to remedy the defect, thereby avoiding unnecessary costs of

transporting the goods back to the seller.421 It can also serve as evidence as to the

condition of the goods if the seller needs to make a claim against another party, for

example the carrier responsible for transporting the goods to their destination.422

The thesis argues that the notice requirement under art 39 CISG places the buyer and

seller in a fair position as, the buyer must tender the notice within a reasonable

time,423 and in any event he must give notice at the ‘latest within a period of two

years from the date on which the goods were actually handed over’. 424 This latter

approach would allow for discovery of latent defects. Article 44 CISG allows the

buyer, if he has a reasonable excuse for failing to give notice, the right to still claim a

price reduction425 or damages.426 A reasonable excuse has been interpreted by the

417
CISG, art 39.
418
CISG, art 25.
419
See discussion at chapter 7; CISG, art 26.
420
See discussion at chapter 5.3 and 7.5; Samuel Date-Bah, ‘Article 26’ in Cesare Massimo Bianca
and Michael Joachim Bonell (eds), Commentary on the International Sales Law (Giuffrè 1987) 223.
421
See discussion at chapter 6.
422
Honnold (n 134) 278.
423
CISG, art 39 (1).
424
CISG, art 39(2).
425
CISG, art 50.
426
CISG, art 74, but in this case not for loss of profit.

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case law to include the type of business activity the buyer was engaged in, and also

the size of the organisation, that is, whether the buyer had employees to carry out the

task of examination?427 Under art 40 CISG the seller is not permitted to rely on the

lack of notice of non-conformity if the non-conformity ‘relates to facts of which he

knew or could not have been unaware and which he did not disclose to the buyer.’

The additional requirement to give notice of avoidance under art 26 CISG also

serves to reduce uncertainty and avoid waste of resources. Honnold argues that

without the notice, ‘a party might be led to perform in ignorance of the other party’s

decision to refuse the performance’.428 He goes on to state that ‘a buyer's declaration

of avoidance, to be effective under art 26, must inform the seller that the buyer will

not accept or keep the goods’.429

Chapter seven of the thesis provides an in-depth examination of the notice of

avoidance, and argues that the notice has important implications for storage,

transport and preservation of the goods. Additionally the notice serves to prevent

one party from trying to manipulate the fluctuations in market prices to their

advantage.430

3.8 Conclusion

This chapter has examined the history, scope, purpose and interpretative

provisions of the CISG. In doing so, its aim was to highlight some of the

problematic issues and controversies surrounding the CISG, including the problems

that can arise when countries with differing legal backgrounds have to agree on the

wording and meaning of a particular provision. The chapter has demonstrated that if

the internal interpretative mechanisms within the CISG are correctly applied, the

427
Switzerland 8 January 1997 Appellate Court Luzern (Blood infusion devices case) (IICL, 16
February 2007) <[Link] accessed 07 August 2007.
428
Honnold (n 134) 212.
429
See discussion at chapter 7; Honnold (n 134) 215.
430
See discussion at chapter 7.1.4.

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CISG can address all issues that fall within its scope. This chapter has furthered the

aims of the thesis, specifically by identifying the tools of interpretation. These tools

assist in the interpretation of the provisions dealing with the buyer’s remedy of

avoidance to be examined in subsequent chapters. Additionally, it has been

demonstrated that if there are internal gaps that cannot be filled by reference to art 7,

the resort to using the Principles is legitimate and preferable to resort to domestic

law. The chapter has examined the English law on termination of the contract to

determine if the use of these laws would provide a better approach to international

sale of goods contracts. The examination demonstrated that for the most part the two

instruments may produce a similar result and on those issues where they do differ,

the CISG may prove to be a more comprehensive body of law for foreign parties to

use in their sales contracts. Subsequent chapters of the thesis will continue to provide

a comparison of the CISG and the English law approaches to termination of the

contract. The next chapter examines the tools and mechanisms for parties to use

which can assist not only in the event of a dispute regarding avoidance of the

contract but also in negotiating the contractual terms to make their intent clear and

unambiguous.

114