DOMESTICATION OF THE CISG: EXAMPLES FROM A FEW JURISDICTIONS

Abstract

The importance and influence of the CISG as an international treaty should not only be assessed from the perspective of the number of ratifications it received from around the globe. It should, rather, also include an analysis of the impact the Convention has had on domestic jurisdictions, either by being used as a model law for domestic sales law, or simply by influencing the reform process while different countries were drafting their new contract law. For that reason, this paper shall present a number of examples where the effect of the CISG has gone beyond its initial purpose of creating uniform rules in international trade. This paper initially shows the interesting case of Kosovo, where the text of the CISG was used as domestic law for sales contracts for more than a decade. It further shows some other examples, from Nordic countries and beyond, where the CISG was either used as a model for domestic sales or as a source of inspiration for drafting contract law.