Anyone involved in trade law knows the time-consuming nature of obtaining primary source material and consulting each of the main trade laws. Now in its fourth edition, Basic Documents in International Trade Law solves this problem by assembling, in a single, easy-to-use resource, a very comprehensive collection of the most important and frequently used documents on the law of international trade. In addition to its obvious practical value, this work reveals much about the process of harmonization in international trade law and the operation of the key international trade bodies. This makes the book a helpful reference for international business lawyers, researchers, legislators and government officials in the field. Since the successful publication of the previous editions of the book, the appearance of new conventions and model laws has considerably enriched the law of international trade, and the present edition contains a wealth of new material. The book has been substantially revised and several new instruments have been included. Among the most significantly important improvements to this new edition are new chapters added to different parts of the book, a redesigned and thoroughly revised Part 6 reflecting the expansion of intellectual property rights under the framework of treaties administered by World International Property Organization, and bibliographies and other research resources updated and enlarged to include an extraordinarily rich collection of books and articles in many trading languages besides English, including, for the first time, major Chinese works in the international trade law field. As the late Prof. Clive M. Schmitthoff commented on the first edition, the book ‘is not only of practical usefulness but has also considerable jurisprudential value’, and ‘reveals the methodology of the harmonization process in the area of international trade law’. The International Business Lawyer first commented in 1987 that the book ‘can only be described as a “vade mecum” for every international business lawyer’, an assessment that now seems more merited than ever.

The Unidroit Principles of International Contracts, first published in 1994, have met with extraordinary success in the legal and business community worldwide. Prepared by a group of eminent experts from all major legal systems of the world, they provide a comprehensive set of rules for international commercial contracts. Available in more than 20 language versions, they are increasingly being used by national legislatures as a source of inspiration in law reform projects, by lawyers as guidelines in contract negotiations and by arbitrators as a legal basis for the settlement of disputes. In 2004 a new edition of the Unidroit Principles was approved, containing five new chapters and adaptations to take into account electronic contracting. This new edition of An International Restatement of Contract Law is the first comprehensive introduction to the Unidroit Principles 2004. In addition, it provides an extensive survey and analysis of the actual use of the Unidroit Principles in practice with special emphasis on the different ways in which they have been interpreted and applied by the courts and arbitral tribunals in the hundred or so cases reported worldwide. The book also contains the full text of the Preamble and the 180 articles of the Unidroit Principles 2004 in Chinese, English, French, German, Italian and Russian as well as the 1994 edition in Spanish. Published under the Transnational Publishers imprint.

This second edition of A Handbook of World Trade is a reliable reference source on the framework and mechanics of world trade. The guide examines the origins and nature of the WTO, regulatory issues and disputes in international trade, the management of foreign currencies in international trade, international trade finance and documentation, and international trade development issues. This authoritative analysis is supported by a directory of essential contacts and useful information including membership of regional trading groups, banking groups with trade finance capacity, export credit agencies, and reading lists.

The Unidroit Principles of International Contracts, first published in 1994, have met with extraordinary success in the legal and business community worldwide. Prepared by a group of eminent experts from all major legal systems of the world, they provide a comprehensive set of rules for international commercial contracts. This new edition of An International Restatement of Contract Law is the first comprehensive introduction to the Unidroit Principles 2004. In addition, it provides an extensive survey and analysis of the actual use of the Unidroit Principles in practice with special emphasis on the different ways in which they have been interpreted and applied by the courts and arbitral tribunals in the hundred or so cases reported worldwide. The book also contains the full text of the Preamble and the 180 articles of the Unidroit Principles 2004 in Chinese, English, French, German, Italian and Russian as well as the 1994 edition in Spanish.

From the perspective of users of international commercial arbitration, the uncertainties surrounding the application of good faith by an arbitral tribunal create an unwelcome unpredictability. Acknowledging this prevalent situation, this book is the first to study in depth the available international arbitral awards that have applied good faith, thus providing detailed guidance on how this notion is (and can be) applied by tribunals in international commercial arbitration. Moreover, the author proposes a set of deeply informed guidelines for the future application of good faith by arbitral tribunals to both the parties’ contract and the arbitration agreement. This book provides a comprehensive description of the role and scope of good faith under governing laws in key jurisdictions (England, New York, Switzerland, France, Germany, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, and Canada) as well as under the CISG, the UNIDROIT Principles, and other uniform law and soft law instruments. The book greatly clarifies the source and role of good faith with respect to the following issues surrounding the arbitration agreement: formal validity of the arbitration agreement; incorporation of the arbitration agreement by reference; interpretation of the arbitration agreement; capacity and power of the parties to arbitrate; extension of an arbitration agreement to a non-signatory party; pre-arbitration requirements to negotiate or mediate; and performance of the arbitration agreement. Proposed guidelines for the application of good faith to each of these issues are included, along with useful figures summarizing the content of the obligations to negotiate or mediate in good faith prior to resorting to arbitration as well as the obligation to arbitrate in good faith. By analysing the role and scope of good faith under different national and non-national laws, this book will prove of inestimable value not only by providing invaluable insight into the recourse to good faith by arbitral tribunals but also by providing guidance on how good faith should be applied to the parties’ contract in international commercial arbitration. Arbitrators, as well as users of arbitration, will welcome the clarity on how good faith is applied to the various issues surrounding the arbitration agreement and, in particular, to the pre-arbitration requirements to negotiate or mediate as well as the performance of the arbitration agreement.