The present publication of re ports and discussions sterns from the fourth Session of the Hague-Zagreb Colloquium, held at Eernewoude, in the Netherlands. The preceding three Sessions were held at Stubice Toplice, in Yugoslavia (1974), Zeist, in the Netherlands (1976) and, again in Yugoslavia, at Opatija (1978). The fourth Session was originally planned for May 1980. On the eve of the meeting, the then President of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the late Marshall J .B. Tito, passed away. On hearing the news of the Marshall's death, the Organizing Committee of the Hague-Zagreb Colloquium immediately decided that the Session should not then be held. The postponement lasted, in fact, a whole year: the fourth Session was convened at Eernewoude in May 1981. For the Eernewoude Session the formula that had produced such excellent results in the previous conferences was maintained. Four topics of international trade law were thoroughly discussed on the basis of reports submitted by scholars from the various legal systems represented at the conference. Apart from the Yugoslav and Dutch participants, scholars from the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, Belgium and Norway took part in the discussions, be it in the capacity of reporter, of chairman or as expert in the field covered by the Colloquium: the law of international trade. A student competition had again been organised and the members of the win ning teams from Yugoslavia and from the Netherlands were among the participants.

For decades, this remarkable book – now in its updated fourth edition – has served practitioners in international trade and banking law as a thorough ‘codification’ of the law and practice of bank guarantees. The new edition has been thoroughly revised, updated, and amended in the light of new developments in the law and changing patterns in practice. Bertrams uses case law, arbitral decisions, and legal writing from five European jurisdictions – The Netherlands, Germany, France, Belgium, and England – to build an analysis of how the practical applications of bank guarantees have established a pattern of law. The new edition takes into account all legal and arbitral decisions and relevant legal writing through 2012 from these countries, as well from other European countries and the United States. Written from a transnational perspective, Bank Guarantees in International Trade can be used in both civil and common law jurisdictions and it has been cited as an authoritative source of case law in several jurisdictions from each system. With reference throughout to the effect and significance of the Uniform Rules for Demand Guarantees (URDG) of the International Chamber of Commerce, International Standby Practices (ISP), and the UNCITRAL Convention on Independent Guarantees and Stand-by Letters of Credit, the author continuously elucidates the way guarantees function in actual practice and the numerous practical aspects and issues to which they give rise. The analysis covers the following subjects and much else: types of guarantee (tender, performance, maintenance, repayment, retention); payment mechanisms (first demand, third-party documents, arbitral or court decision); risks and negotiations, drafting and clauses; bank guarantees as a financial service, the bank’s perspective; direct and indirect guarantees, counter-guarantees; formation, enforceability of expiry dates, assignment and transfer; demand for payment and the rule of strict compliance; fraud and restraining orders; applicable law and jurisdiction; reference to URDG 2010 revision and ISP98 throughout the text. In addition to his thorough coverage of law and legal writing, the author has drawn on intensive contacts with the banking community, construction firms, export credit insurance companies, and local lawyers. His insight into ‘the daily life’ of the world of independent (first demand) guarantees and the practices, difficulties, and peculiarities in a great number of countries and regions, including the Middle East and North Africa, cannot be matched in any other source. Bank guarantees can present major difficulties, and this book is the lawyer’s best guide in any situation likely to arise. As a comprehensive study of the legal and practical aspects of bank guarantees and standby letters of credit, it offers practitioners in international trade law the most complete analysis of banking law in the field. In its wealth of practical detail, it is unlikely to be surpassed.

There can be little doubt that a group of prominent and influential organizations lie at the heart of international economic law (IEL). These include the Bretton Woods institutions, regional development banks and economic organizations, and various specialized global institutions primarily active in norm generation. This volume possesses the unique distinction of presenting the perspectives – both institutional and personal – of legal counsels in some key international economic organizations regarding their work and the role of law within the framework of their organizations, with particular attention to the conditions within which they can optimally contribute to the development of IEL. This last consideration is emphasized in three ‘external’ academic perspectives that focus mainly on what the role of counsels in international economic organizations ought to be. Each first-hand perspective focuses on counsel’s involvement in such aspects of IEL as the following: providing internal advice on the law of the organization; assisting members with respect to domestic institutions and law in the economic sphere; to what extent (if any) legal counsels are normally involved in policy making for issues that are not strictly of a legal nature; intellectual contributions both to the development of international law and the dissemination and exchange of legal knowledge among various stakeholders; ethical challenges and response to possible conflicts of interests; generation of soft law economic instruments; legal issues on replenishment of resources for development funding; setting of internationally recognized standards or best practices for commercial and financial legislation; informal networks of lawyers and lawyer functions which cut across institutional and territorial boundaries; and negotiation and management of free trade agreements from a legal perspective.

The Study Group on a European Civil Code has taken upon itself the task of drafting common European principles for the most important aspects of the law of obligations and for certain parts of the law of property in movables which are especially relevant for the functioning of the common market. Like the Commission on European Contract Law's "Principles of European Contract Law", the results of the research conducted by the Study Group on a European Civil Code seek to advance the process of Europeanisation of private law. Among other topics the series tackles sales and service contracts, distribution contracts and security rights, renting contracts and loan agreements, negotiorum gestio, delicts and unjustified enrichment law, transfer of property, and trust law. The principles furnish each of the national jurisdictions a grid reference. They can be agreed upon by the parties within the framework of the rules of private international law. They may provide a stimulus to both the national and European legislator for moulding private law. Beyond this, they aim to further discussion about the creation of a European Civil Code, or a Common Frame of Reference in the area of patrimonial law, by submitting a concrete model. The "Principles of European Law" are published in co-operation with Stämpfli, Bern (Switzerland). For other co-operation-partners and for more information see www.sellier.de.