Welcome to ERA – Academy of European Law

The conference will analyse legal aspects of international commercial transactions with a special focus on the cross-border sale of goods.

The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) came into force in 1988 and, to date, 73 countries have ratified it. The Convention establishes a comprehensive code of legal rules governing the formation of contracts for the international sale of goods, the obligations of the buyer and seller, remedies for breach of contract and other aspects of the contract. The CISG represents a landmark in the process of international unification of law. It is estimated that 75% of all international sales transactions worldwide are potentially governed by the CISG.

The UNIDROIT Principles on international commercial contracts are considered the most important set of rules which parties to an international contract can choose to govern their agreement. They have been the model for numerous national codifications (China, Russia, Estonia and Lithuania). Moreover, they are becoming increasingly indispensable in international arbitration, either as directly applicable law or as a valuable source for the interpretation of other laws governing the contracts, such as the CISG.

Both the CISG and the UNIDROIT Contract Principles have their own raison d'être. The conference will present both instruments, their interrelationship and their role in international trade. There will be a particular emphasis on case law and arbitration practice.