Arbitration and the New Rules Applicable to International Sales Contracts under the United Nations Convention

Abstract

whilst the procedural rules and those relative to the enforcement of arbitral awards are being harmonised, substantive rules, without which the judges and arbitrators cannot decide disputes, remain at odds. To fill this gap, arbitrators searching to free themselves from national rules may in future seek to utilise the Vienna Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods of 1980. How will they do it?1 The role of arbitrators, the manner in which they are accustomed to accomplishing their mission, and their great freedom in the choice of the substantive law applicable, are three elements which will lead arbitrators frequently to utilise the Vienna Convention, and they will no doubt apply it in a more homogenous fashion than national judges, particularly since the role of trade usage, which is of considerable importance in arbitration and international commerce in general, is well defined by the Convention.