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The CISG—Successes and Pitfalls
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2009
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International EconomicsTradeInternational RegulationLawPrivate International LawInternational SaleUnited Nations ConventionCommercial PolicyInternational BusinessAssessmentReliabilityEconomicsInternational SalesInternational LawResearch DesignPublic International LawTrade AgreementsGlobal MarketsPerformance StudiesInternational Legal StudiesTrade PolicyTrade EconomicsInternational Trade PracticeBusinessScience And Technology StudiesGlobal TradeInternational Institutions
The CISG has achieved worldwide acceptance, covering about 70–80 % of international sales and is adopted by 72 member states, yet some legal systems still criticize it. The article investigates the CISG’s role in international trade practice and its influence as a model for sales‑law reform, arguing that it is superior to domestic laws and well suited to modern commodity trade. The study finds that many criticisms are unfounded misunderstandings, and that appropriate solutions can address the remaining issues.
The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods—the CISG—has now gained worldwide acceptance. Today the CISG has seventy-two member states; nine out of ten leading trade nations being member states. It can be estimated that about seventy to eighty percent of all international sales transactions are potentially governed by the CISG. The Article examines the role of the CISG in international trade practice as well as its influence as a role model for reforming sales law on an international as well as domestic level. It discusses why the CISG can be regarded superior to choosing any domestic sales law. Although the overall advantages of the CISG are now undisputable, there remain several criticisms regarding the application of the CISG to international commercial transactions which still seem to nourish a strong adverse view on the Convention in certain legal systems. Having a closer look at these criticisms, however, reveals that they are in part unfounded as they stem from general misunderstandings and in all other cases appropriate solutions can be developed. Especially, it will be proven that the CISG very well suits the necessities of modern trade, including commodity trade.