Preamble I: Purposes, Legal Nature, and Scope of the PICC; Applicability by Courts; Use of the PICC for the Purpose of Interpretation and Supplementation and as a Model

Professor Michael\u27s chapter provides commentary on Preamble I of the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts. Areas covered include purposes, legal nature and scope of the PICC; applicability by courts; use of the PICC for the purpose of interpretation and supplementation and as a model

The UNIDROIT Principles as Global Background Law

After twenty years of existence, it becomes apparent that the role actually played by the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts (PICC) is quite different from the one originally intended. This article first presents nine surprising findings concerning the actual use of the PICC, as it can be assessed on the basis of published opinions, legislation, and scholarship. It then uses these findings to suggest that the PICC should not be viewed as a code or even a non-state law. Instead, their nature is that of a Restatement of global general contract law, and their function is that of a global background law. The article finally discusses implications of these findings for concrete questions: their use in private international law, their use to interpret the CISG, their relationship with other non-State codifications, and their relationship with a possible global commercial code

Alteration of the Contractual Equilibrium Under the UNIDROIT Principles

This paper addresses the principles of hardship and specific performance as being unreasonably burdensome or expensive both in terms of their definitions and legal consequences. This paper argues that, in a situation of hardship, the debtor can choose to invoke either the rules of section 6.2 (hardship) or the defense to specific performance under Article 7.2.2-b of the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts (“UNIDROIT Principles”). Yet, while in a situation where performance of the contract becomes “unreasonably burdensome or expensive,” the debtor might only invoke the exception to specific performance under Article 7.2.2(b) of the UNIDROIT Principles

Принципи міжнародних комерційних договорів УШДРУА та lex mercatoria в контексті міжнародного приватного права

Смітюх А. В. Принципи міжнародних комерційних договорів УШДРУА та lex mercatoria в контексті міжнародного приватного права : автореф. дис. ... канд. юрид. наук : 12.00.03 / А. В. Смітюх; кер. роботи М. Ю. Черкес; Нац. ун.-т "Одеська юридична академія". – Одеса, 2004. – 19 с.Дисертація на здобуття наукового ступеня кандидата юридичних наук за спеціальністю 12.00.03 - цивільне право і цивільний процес; сімейне право; міжнародне приватне право. - Одеська національна юридична академія, Одеса, 2004. В дисертації обґрунтовано вузьке розуміння lex mercatoria, як заснованої на практиці міжнародної торгівлі позанаціональної системи договірного зобов'язального права, що самовідтворюється міжнародним діловим співтовариством та покликана забезпечити задовільне регулювання міжнародного комерційного обороту через автономне або субсидіарне застосування. Проаналізовано зміст, ґрунтовні ідеї, іноземну практику застосування Принципів УНІДРУА; перспективи їх застосування в Україні в світлі нового ЦК України; доведено, що Принципи УНІДРУА є найважливішим, системоутворюючим елементом lex mercatoria. Обґрунтовується доцільність подальших досліджень lex mercatoria в контексті не тільки міжнародного, але й міжнародного приватного права.Диссертация на соискание научной степени кандидата юридических наук по специальности 12.00.03 - гражданское право и гражданский процесс; семейное право; международное частное право. - Одесская национальная юридическая академия, Одесса, 2004. В диссертации обосновано “узкое” понимание lex mercatoria как основанной на практике международной торговли вненациональной системы договорного обязательственного права, созданной международным деловым сообществом и призванной обеспечить удовлетворительное регулирование международного коммерческого оборота путем автономного или субсидиарного применения. Проанализированы содержание, основополагающие идеи, иностранная практика применения Принципов УНИДРУА; перспективы их применения в Украине в свете нового ГК Украины, доказано, что Принципы УНИДРУА являются важнейшим, системообразующим элементом lex mercatoria. Обосновывается целесообразность дальнейшего исследования leх mercatoria в контексте не только международного, но и международного частного права.Thesis for obtaining the scientific degree of Candidate of Sciences (Law), speciality 12.00.03 - civil law and civil procedure; family law; international private law. - Odessa National Academy of Law, Odessa, 2004. The possibility of a-national law existence is investigated and proved as being the cornerstone of admission of custom-based lex mercatoria in any reasonable sense. Such existence is obvious for one whose investigation is based upon multidimensional approach to studying of law. Author takes a narrow view to lex mercatoria and emphasize it's customary and non-statutory nature. Accordingly, author doesn't regard international conventions, uniform laws and other statutory law as a source of the lex mercatoria. Custom-based lex mercatoria is deemed as an element of law of international trade, which consists not only of customs but also of state or interstate origin rules (international conventions and national laws). So, the modern lex mercatoria is historically linked with medieval law merchant, it's just a contemporary “reissue” of the same sources created by international commercial community. The purpose of the lex mercatoria as a legal phenomena is to adapt the law of international trade to changing circumstances of up to date trade taking into account lack of the statutory laws of whether national or international origins. Lex mercatoria is a body of law distinct from any national legal order. The parties to a contract can validly choose lex mercatoria as the law governing their contract by including a choice of law clause referring to the lex mercatoria as the proper law of the contract. Arbitrator of international commercial arbitration is free to render award based only on the a-national rules of lex mercatoria with the exception of the rules of any national legal system. Such award is really enforceable, it can be successfully appealed only on the procedural grounds, but not because of lex mercatoria has been deemed as a proper law of contract. Lex mercatoria can be applied not only strictly autonomously but also together with sources of law of different nature in such ways: lex mercatoria rules support lacking rules of national law or rules of international conventions; rules of national law or rules of international conventions support rules of lex mercatoria; lex mercatoria rules are used to interpret texts of international conventions; there can be additional references in arbitral awards and court decisions to the rules of lex mercatoria in order to confirm the applying of proper rule of national law, choiced among some possible rules and to demonstrate, that such solution has “international dimension”. Investigation of the UNIDROIT Principles black-letter rules and commentaries allowed to create new classification of underlying ideas of the UNIDROIT Principles including: such elementary principles as freedom of contract, pacta sunt servanda, full compensation; such corrective principles as rebus sic stantibus and favor contractus; such cornerstone idea of UNIDROIT Principles as good faith and fair dealing principle. So, UNIDROIT Principles embodied all the underlying ideas of the lex mercatoria. Author proposes new classification of the functions of the UNIDROIT Principles also. In addition to the functions, fixed in the Preamble of Principles, author for the first time described such functions of the Principles UNIDROIT as: applying Principles by arbitrator as a proper law governing contract through the fiction of negative choice of the parties; using Principles by arbitrators and judges as a mean of legitimization of a court decision or an arbitral award rendered accordingly to national law in the matters of international trade; applying Principles by arbitrators as a mean of interpretation of a choice of law clauses. Being especially tailored to the needs of international commercial transactions UNIDROIT Principles embody in essence implied foundations of customary lex mercatoria. UNIDROIT Principles are regarded as a restatement of those underlying ideas that have enjoyed universal acceptance and, moreover, are at the heart of those most fundamental notions which have consistently been applied in arbitral practice. UNIDROIT Principles constitute a core of the new lex mercatoria, this document can really be considered as it's most important element. UNIDROIT Principles do counter the main objections against the lex mercatoria in that they are based on a legitimating thorough and appropriate methodology and in that they provide a concise and coherent system of legal rules. That is due to UNIDROIT Principles lex mercatoria provides a common frame of reference for negotiations between parties from different legal backgrounds

Soft and Hard Strategies: The Role of Business in the Crafting of International Commercial Law

Part I returns to the classic definition of hard international law initially put forward by Kenneth Abbott and Duncan Snidal and related IR scholars and analyzes existing commercial law treaties in light of this definition. It concludes that virtually none of these commercial law treaties constitute “hard” international law because nearly all commercial law treaties rely on national courts for enforcement. But Abbott and Snidal’s focus on the extent to which international law is legalized—and especially the extent to which it is enforced by international actors—may matter less with commercial than other more public international lawmaking. This is because the mostly private law governing commercial transactions conceives of obligation and enforcement in ways distinct from its public law counterparts. Part II explains the distinction between private and public laws that govern purely domestic commerce. Many commercial transactions are not governed by regulatory legislation imposing “top down” obligations enforced by the state but rather contractual obligations that are self-regulating and mostly self-enforcing. In the absence of mandatory commercial regulation, businesses assert their interests domestically through privately organized contracts and litigation brought to enforce these contracts as well as through political pressure for reform of judicial administration. Where regulation does exist or has been proposed, businesses may also look to influence this regulation by lobbying legislators and executives. Part III considers the implications of commercial lawmaking for international settings and, in particular, state and non-state (that is, business) interests in the production of international versions of such laws. State sovereignty interests vary depending on the type of international commercial law reform proposed, whether regulatory or otherwise; business’ autonomy interests also vary along this axis. These interests may diverge, although the interests of states and businesses are also interconnected and subject to change based on assertions of influence. Soft law may aid in bridging these differences in various ways—through its gap-filling, advocacy, and socializing functions. Businesses are uniquely capable of fulfilling these functions through soft international law, capabilities that Part III explores both with reference to the detail of various international commercial laws and with regard to broader theoretical concerns

The paradoxes of the theory of imprévision in the new French law of contract: a judicial deterrent?

As part of the reform of the law of contracts,the theory of imprévision is now enshrined in Article 1195 CC of the French Civil Code. The novelty of this article lies essentially in the new judicial power of review. As this paper shows, Article 1195 CC raises three paradoxes:the first one in the nature of the article itself as a default rule that encourages a voluntary ex-ante contractual solution over a judicial solution through careful pre-emptive drafting;the second at the renegotiation phase as the affected party has the right to request renegotiation whereas the other contracting party the right to refuse to renegotiate; and the third in the new judicial powers that play as a deterrent and favour an ex-post contractual solution through renegotiation. Overall, this article demonstrates a clear bias for a private contractual and negotiated solution (over a judicial one). Small and medium sized businesses are likely to avail themselves of the new framework to redefine their contractual relationship. By contrast, larger commercial enterprises are further incentivised to enhance their self-reliance by boosting forward-looking contractual and expert determination provisions dealing with changed circumstances. The fear of a snowball effect with the provision generating a a more interventionist judicial attitude appears therefore exaggerated