International Sale of Goods (CISG) and Related Transactions | United Nations Commission On

International Trade Law

UNCITRAL work on uniform sales law resulted in the conclusion of the United
Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (Vienna, 1980)
(CISG), which, in addition to being a widely adopted treaty, also serves as the source
of inspiration for many regional and national laws. The CISG, which deals with both
contract formation and the obligations of the parties, carefully balances the
interests of the buyer and seller, and provides a comprehensive set of remedies in
case of non-performance. The CISG is complemented by the Convention on the
Limitation Period in the International Sale of Goods dealing with a complex and
critical area of sales law, which is subject to significantly different treatment in the
various legal systems.

In 2020, UNCITRAL approved the publication of a Legal Guide to Uniform

Instruments in the Area of International Commercial Contracts (with a focus on
sales) jointly prepared with the Hague Conference on Private International Law and
with UNIDROIT, which provides an overview of uniform contract law texts and
illustrates their relationship.

Conventions

 United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (Vienna,
1980) (CISG)
 Convention on the Limitation Period in the International Sale of Goods (New York,
1974)

Contractual Texts

 Uniform Rules on Contract Clauses for an Agreed Sum Due upon Failure of
Performance (1983)

Explanatory texts
  Legal Guide to Uniform Instruments in the Area of International Commercial
Contracts, with a Focus on Sales (2020)
 UNCITRAL Legal Guide on International Countertrade Transactions (1992)

The UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of

Goods (CISG)

The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods

(CISG) is a multilateral treaty that establishes a uniform legal regime for contracts
for the cross-border sale of goods. Such sales contracts operate as the backbone
of international trade, and uniform rules for sales contracts provide traders with an
efficient, modern and comprehensive legal framework to support their commercial
activities. Its uniform rules, specifically designed to meet the needs of cross border
commerce, increase certainty in commercial transactions and decrease their costs.
The CISG thus supports sustainable economic development in general, and
because risks and costs are disproportionately felt by small and medium-sized
enterprises, is of particular benefit in promoting cross-border commercial activities
on their part.

The CISG has been adopted by 94 States from all legal traditions and levels of
economic development and that together represent over two-thirds of the global
economy. The UNCITRAL Secretariat is organising a series of awareness-raising
events and technical assistance activities to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the
CISG in 2020 (“CISG@40”). The CISG@40 activities pursue several goals. One of
them is to identify potential new States parties to the CISG, to support and promote
the treaty adoption process, namely to accelerate the achievement of the symbolic
number of 100 States parties, and to broaden CISG coverage by supporting the
withdrawal of declarations and the territorial extensions for existing States parties.
Secondly, as regards use in practice, the challenge is to raise awareness of the
CISG’s benefits in the commercial environment and among the judiciary on its
uniform interpretation. One important component of this line of activity is
broadening and deepening contributors’ commitment to the Case law on UNCITRAL
Texts (“CLOUT”) system and to involve new partners in the CLOUT network. In this
framework, the publication in 2020 of a Guide on International Commercial
Contracts (with a focus on sales) (prepared jointly by UNCITRAL, the International
Institute for the Unification of Private Law (Unidroit) and the Hague Conference on
Private International Law) stands out. Additional topics relevant for CISG@40
include the use of the CISG as a model for national law reform, the broader
adoption and use of closely-related treaties such as the Limitation Convention and
the Electronic Communications Convention, and matters relating to the use of the
CISG in the digital economy such as the relationship between the CISG and smart
contracts.