Sobel, David M.

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Pace International Law ReviewVolume 9Issue 1 Summer 1997 Article 5June 1997Introduction to CISG ArticlesDavid M. SobelFollow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.pace.edu/pilrThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Law at DigitalCommons@Pace. It has been accepted for inclusion in PaceInternational Law Review by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Pace. For more information, please contact cpittson@law.pace.edu.Recommended CitationDavid M. Sobel, Introduction to CISG Articles, 9 Pace Int'l L. Rev. 185 (1997)Available at: http://digitalcommons.pace.edu/pilr/vol9/iss1/5INTRODUCTION TO CISG ARTICLESWith this issue, The Pace International Law Review is in-troducing a new section. Many of our articles, in the past, havedealt with public international law. This new section deals withprivate international law, more specifically, the United NationsConvention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods(CISG).1 Each issue will include commentaries and case ex-tracts taken from the Pace CISG Internet website.The Pace Institute of International Commercial Law2 es-tablished and maintains a comprehensive electronic databasefor the CISG. The Convention is the uniform law of countriesaccounting for more than two-thirds of all world trade3 and isthe uniform law of all fifty states of the United States and mostof our major trading partners. This database is located at<http://www.law.pace.edu> on the internet. Since its un-veiling in March, 1996, the site has received more than 300,000visits by persons from more than 52 countries.In order to assist our readers in utilizing this valuable toolin their research, we have included an extract from a databasecase presentation and examples of commentaries commissionedfor the database. The presentation will walk you through thesteps in researching one of the more than 300 CISG cases 4 inthe database. Because this case is taken from the Internet, wewill be foregoing some of the Law Review and bluebook conven-tions in order to maintain the flavor of what you would actually1 United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale ofGoods, opened for signature Apr. 11, 1980, 19 I.L.M. 668 [hereinafter CISG or Vi-enna Convention (referred to in cases under both names)].2 Co-founded at Pace University School of Law by Willem C. Vis and AlbertH. Kritzer, the Institute was established to join the insights of practicing attorneyswith the expertise of law faculty members and participants in international orga-nizations that serve the world trade community. Prior to joining the Pace faculty,Willem Vis headed UNCITRAL and served as Executive Secretary of the ViennaDiplomatic Conference at which the CISG was promulgated; author of texts on theCISG, Albert Kritzer formerly served as International Sales Council of the GeneralElectric Company. An affiliated Institute activity is the International CommercialArbitration Moot on the CISG administered by Pace Professor Eric E. Bergstenwho, like Willem Vis, formerly headed UNCITRAL.3 As of February 1997, 48 countries have adopted the CISG.4 As of this date, approximately 320 recorded CISG cases have been reported.1PACE INT'L L. REV.see on the web-page. Hypertext 5 links (usually noted in blue onthe internet) will be surrounded by the < > symbols, so that youwill see the actual format of the research. The addendum, fol-lowing the case Delchi Carrier, S.p.A. v. Rotorex Corp., is in theformat of a brief rather than an article.The illustrative commentaries (cross-reference editorialanalysis of CISG Articles 65 and 74) are by authors from theUnited States and Norway. These commentaries are presentedin conventional Law Review and blue book format.For the uninitiated, there are certain acronyms used, otherthan CISG, that you will need to understand:UNCITRAL - United Nations Commission onInternational Trade Law.CLOUT - Case Law on UNCITRAL Texts (A caseabstract service provided by UNCITRAL).ULIS 6  - Uniform Law for International Sale of Goodsunderthe 1964 Hague Sales Convention.ULF 7  - Uniform Law on the Formation of Contractsfor the International Sale of Goods, alsounder the 1964 Hague Sales Convention(along with ULIS, the predecessor of CISG).UNIDROIT8 - International Institute for the Unification ofPrivate Law.If you have any questions about the website, the material,or the Pace Institute of International Commercial Law pleasecontact: Professor Nicholas Triffin, Institute Director or Profes-sor Albert H. Kritzer, Institute Executive Secretary at (914)422-4159, E-mail: cisg@genesis.law.pace.edu. If you have anycomments or suggestions about our presentation of this case,please let us know.David M. SobelArticles Editor5 In the actual Internet presentation, the citations are within the text itself,conforming more to the style of a brief.6 Convention Relating to a Uniform Law on the International Sale of Goods,done on July, 1, 1964, Vol. 834 U.N.T.S. 107 [hereinafter ULIS].7 Convention Relating to a Uniform Law on the Formation of Contracts forthe International Sales of Goods, Done on July 1, 1964, Vol. 834 U.N.T.S. 169[hereinafter ULF].8 Among other important contributions, UNIDROIT has produced theUNIDROIT Princples of International Commercial Contracts (1994).[Vol. 9:1852http://digitalcommons.pace.edu/pilr/vol9/iss1/5

Introduction to CISG Articles

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Introduction to CISG Articles

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