REMEDIES OF THE BUYER

IN INTERNATIONAL
SALES
Mohamad Bagja Azhari
1306437896
FHUI
Overview of the remedies
• The CISG makes the following remedies available for the buyer in case of breach of
contract by the seller.
A. Claims for Performance: 
• right to performance [Art. 46 (1) and 47]

• reparation [Art. 46 (2)]

• delivery of substitute goods [Art. 46 (3)]

B. Avoidance of the contract [Art. 49] and its limit: the seller's right to cure ("Second
Tendering") [Art. 48]
C. Reduction of the price [Art. 50] 
D. Remedies for partial non-performance or partial lack of conformity [Art. 51]
E. Refusal to take early delivery or delivery of excess goods [Art. 52 (1) and (2)]
F. Suspension of performance [Art. 71]
G. Claim for damages
The right to claim performance

Article 46 
• (1) The buyer may require performance by the seller of his obligations unless
the buyer has resorted to a remedy which is inconsistent with this requirement.

• The right for the requirement of a real performance is the first and basic right of the
buyer. The buyer has a strong interest in performance by the seller in kind in case the
purchase in cover is not available, or involves unreasonable difficulties (e.g. loss of
time).
Delivery of substitute goods

• Article 46

• (2) If the goods do not conform with the contract, the buyer may require delivery
of substitute goods only if the lack of conformity constitutes a fundamental breach
of contract and a request for substitute goods is made either in conjunction with
notice given under article 39 or within a reasonable time thereafter.  
• The delivery of substitute goods may be required only in case the performance does not
conform with the contract, and this constitutes a "fundamental breach" within the
meaning of Art. 25. This claim can be enforced only within a strict period imposed by
Art. 39 in connection with the duty to notify the seller on the defect of quality.
If the seller delivers substitute goods, the question arises as to whether the buyer may
claim damages for the extra costs of reparation carried out by itself, or shall the buyer
offer to the seller the opportunity to carry these works out.
Reparation
 
Article 46
• (3) If the goods do not conform with the contract, the buyer may require the seller
to remedy the lack of conformity by repair, unless this is unreasonable having
regard to all the circumstances. A request for repair must be made either in
conjunction with notice given under article 39 or within a reasonable time
thereafter. 
• This article provides for a right to repair if the delivered goods do not conform to the
contract in the sense of Article 35. Moreover, repair must be reasonable in the light of all
the circumstances. Finally, the buyer must give timely notice of its request for repair. It is
necessary that the goods are reparable so that the defect can be cured by repair. A request
for repair would be unreasonable if, for example, the buyer could easily repair the goods
itself. Nevertheless, the seller remains liable for any costs of such repair. The question
then arises as to whether the buyer can recover the damages if it repaired the goods itself
 
Avoidance of the contract

• Article 49

• The buyer is entitled to avoid the contract in two cases only:

• (i) in case of "fundamental breach"

• (ii) if the seller does not deliver the goods within the additional period fixed by the
buyer (or declares that he will not deliver within this period).
ARTICLE 49
(1) The buyer may declare the contract avoided:
• (a) if the failure by the seller to perform any of his obligations under the contract or this Convention amounts to a
fundamental breach of contract; or
• (b) in case of non-delivery, if the seller does not deliver the goods within the additional period of time fixed by the
buyer in accordance with paragraph (1) of article 47 or declares that he will not deliver within the period so fixed.
• (2) However, in cases where the seller has delivered the goods, the buyer loses the right to declare the contract
avoided unless he does so:
• (a) in respect of late delivery, within a reasonable time after he has become aware that delivery has been made;

• (b) in respect of any breach other than late delivery, within a reasonable time:

• (i) after he knew or ought to have known of the breach;

• (ii) after the expiration of any additional period of time fixed by the buyer in accordance with paragraph (1) of
article 47, or after the seller has declared that he will not perform his obligations within such an additional period; or
• (iii) after the expiration of any additional period of time indicated by the seller in accordance with paragraph (2) of
article 48, or after the buyer has declared that he will not accept performance
Consequences of Avoidance
• The CISG provides mainly for four different consequences of a valid avoidance of
the contract: release from obligations, restitution of what has already been
performed, the right to calculate damages in an abstract way, and the duty to
preserve the goods.
Release from Obligations

• It is more or less self-understanding that the central obligations under the contract
must end when termination becomes effective (Article 81(1) point 1). It is less self-
understanding that certain duties and provisions of the contract continue to bind the
parties. From a practical point of view, it is most important that jurisdiction clauses
and arbitration clauses of the contract remain in force despite any valid declaration
of avoidance (Article 81(1) point 2). Also, where damages have already become due
even as a consequence of a penalty clause such right to damages survives the end of
the contract.
Restitution
• Each party is entitled to reclaim what it has supplied or paid under the contract
(Article 81(2)). Because the Convention deals with this issue, any recourse to
national law for such claims is unnecessary, and is in fact wrong; national law on
unjust enrichment, or like institutions, does not apply. In addition to the return of the
goods and/or of the price, restitution includes, first, interest on any sum which has to
be repaid and, second, compensation for the benefits which a party derived from the
goods, mainly from their use (Article 84).
Abstract Calculation of Damages
• Even after a valid avoidance of the contract, a party remains entitled to damages if
any damage has already been suffered. But now, the party can calculate its damages
in an easier and abstract way: if this party executed a reasonable substitute
transaction then simply the (negative) difference between the price of the original
contract and the price for the substitute transaction can be claimed (Article 75).
Where no reasonable substitute transaction has been made but where a current price
of the goods exists, the (negative) difference between the contract price and the
current price constitutes the recoverable damage which the aggrieved party can
claim without further proof of a concrete loss.
Relationship to Other Remedies
• As already mentioned, avoidance leaves a claim for damages untouched. Such a
claim can, therefore, be combined with a declaration of avoidance. Other remedies
which presuppose that the contract is still in force—like a claim for performance or
price reduction—are, however, irreconcilable with avoidance and do not survive the
termination of the contract.
Transformation of Duties
• In essence, avoidance transforms the contract from a future-oriented ongoing
relationship into a backward-oriented restitution relationship. The contractual duties
turn into restitution and preserving duties whose violation results in damages like a
violation of the primary duties of the living contract.
Preservation of Goods
• Finally, the party in possession or control of the goods which require restitution has
to take reasonable steps to preserve those goods in the interest of the other party,
even if the contract has been rightfully terminated (Articles 85 and 86). Thus, this
duty of preservation also survives the termination of the contract.
Availability of Avoidance Under the CISG
• The CISG grants the remedy of avoidance in four different situations: first, where
the seller has fundamentally breached the contract (regulated by Article 49); second,
in a parallel manner,where the buyer has fundamentally breached the contract
(regulated by Article 64); and third, in the situation that it is clear and almost certain
that either the seller or the buyer will fundamentally breach the contract (anticipatory
breach regulated by Article 72). The fourth situation is the case of an instalment
sale. Avoidance with respect to the single instalment is permitted if a party
committed a fundamental breach with respect to that single instalment; avoidance of
the contract as a whole can be claimed where the fundamental breach concerns the
whole contract (Article 73).