INTRNATIONAL

CONVENTIONS AND
TREATIES
 Vienna Convention on the Law of
Treaties, 1969.
In contrast with the process of creating law through custom,
treaties (or international conventions) are a more modern and
more deliberate method

Article 2(1)a defines a treaty for the purposes of the Convention

as “an international agreement concluded between states in
written form and governed by international law, whether
embodied in a single instrument or in two or more related
instruments and whatever its particular designation”
 TRAINING STAGES

NEGOTIATION SIGNATURE

EXCHANGE OR
DEPOSIT OF RATIFICATION
RATIFICATION
 GENERAL RULE OF TREATIES
INTERPRETATION
• A treaty must be interpreted in good faith in accordance with the
ordinary meaning to be given to the terms of the treaty in their
context and taking into account its object and purpose.

• The obligatory nature of treaties is founded upon the customary

international law principle that agreements are binding (pacta sunt
servanda). Treaties may be divided into ‘law-making’ treaties, which
are intended to have universal or general relevance, and ‘treaty-
contracts’, which apply only as between two or a small number of
states.
 TREATY COMPLIANCE

A treaty is a contractual act concluded between subjects of

international law that takes the form of a written instrument
and is accompanied by certain solemnities that guarantee its
authenticity
 Contract act: A
treaty is a
contract.

Subjects of international
Solemnities: law: States, International
Guarantee of Organizations,
Territories subject to
authenticity. mandate or trust.

Written document: It must

be done in writing. This is
in accordance with the
statute of limitations of
the Vienna Convention on
the Law of Treaties.
Good faith prevents:

That a treaty be left unfulfilled, alleging that it goes against domestic law:
Because there has been the ratification that should have been used so
that States realize if the treaty goes against the constitution of the
country, if knowing that it is going against, the treaty is ratified, must be
complied with.
 United Nations
Convention on Contracts
for
the International Sale of
Goods
PREAMBLE…

“Considering that the development of international trade on the basis

of equality and mutual benefit is an important element in promoting
friendly relations among States,

Being of the opinion that the adoption of uniform rules which govern
contracts for the international sale of goods and take into account
the different social, economic and legal systems would contribute to
the removal of legal barriers in international trade and promote the
development of international trade…”
 Sphere of
application
and general • This article contains some of the rules to
provisions determine if the Convention is applicable.
art. 1

• However, it is equally important to take

into account other provisions
that also help define the scope of
application of the Convention.
 Sphere of This Convention applies to contracts
of sale of goods between parties
application whose places of business are in
and general different States:
provisions
art. 1(1) (a) when the States are Contracting
States;

(b) when the rules of private

international law lead to the
application of the law of a Contracting
State.
 What is a place of business?

“the place from which the

commercial activity
it takes place de facto [...] this
requires a certain duration
and a certain stability, as well as
a certain degree of
autonomy”
Oberlandesgericht Hamm, Alemania, 2 de
abril de 2009, que puede consultarse en la
dirección de Internet www.cisg-online.ch;
caso CLOUT núm. 867 [Tribunale di Forlì,
Italia, 11 de diciembre de 2008],
 WHAT IS • A court has ruled that the place where the
goods are simply stored does not
NOT A constitute an "establishment" for the
purposes of the Convention.
BUSINESS
PLACE? • An arbitral tribunal has stated that “he
place where the contract was simply
concluded does not constitute an
establishment; neither is the place where
the negotiations have taken place”

• The international requirement is not met

when the parties have their relevant
establishments in the same country
 The fact that the parties have their places
of business in different States is to be
disregarded whenever this fact does not
appear either from the contract or from
Sphere of any dealings between, or from information
application disclosed by, the parties at any time
and before or at the conclusion of the
contract.
general
provisions
art. 1(2)
 Neither the nationality of the parties nor
the civil or commercial character of the
parties or of the contract is to be taken
into consideration in determining the
application of this Convention

Sphere of
application
and general
provisions
art. 1(3)
 CONTRACTS GOVERNED BY THE
CONVENTION
• The Convention applies to contracts for the sale of goods, regardless
of the name that the parties have given to the contract.

Definition that is understood of the articles 30 & 53 of the Convention:

“Thus, a contract for the sale of goods governed by the Convention
can be defined as a contract by virtue of which one party (the seller) is
obliged to deliver the goods and transfer the ownership of the
merchandise sold and the other party (the buyer) is forced to pay the
price and accept the merchandise”
WHAT IS
A In accordance with the provisions of
GOODS? article 7 (1), the concept
"merchandise" must be interpreted
of

taking into account the "character

international“ of the Convention and
"the need to promote uniformity in its
application", rather than referring to
domestic law in search of a definition.
AWARDS & INTERNATIONAL
SENTENCES OR JUDGMENT

GOODS: Are items that, at the

time of delivery, are "furniture
and body", regardless of their
form, whether they are solid
or not, used or new, or live or
inanimate.
WHAT CAN’T BE
SOLD BY THE
CONVENTION?
 The exclusions listed in Article 2 are
ART. 2 OF THE of three types:
CONVENTION 1. Those based on the purpose for
which the goods were purchased,
2. Those based on the type of
operation and those based on the
classes of merchandise sold.
WHAT CAN'T BUY WITH THE RULES
OF THE CONVENTION?
• Of goods bought for personal, family or household use, unless
the seller, at any time before or at the conclusion of the contract,
neither knew nor ought to have known that the goods were
bought for any such use;
• By auction;
• On execution or otherwise by authority of law;
• Of stocks, shares, investment securities, negotiable instruments
or money;
• Of ships, vessels, hovercraft or aircraft;
• Of electricity.
ART. 3 OF THE
CONVENTION SUPPLY OF
GOODS

DOES NOT APPLY TO

CONTRACTS IN THE
SUPPLY OF LABOUR OR
OTHER SERVICES.