Lawyers involved in international commercial transactions know well that unforeseen events affecting the performance of a party often arise. Not surprisingly, exemptions for non-performance are dealt with in a significant number of arbitral awards. This very useful book thoroughly analyzes contemporary approaches, particularly as manifested in case law, to the scope and content of the principles of exemption for non-performance which are commonly referred to as 'force majeure' and 'hardship.' The author shows that the 'general principles of law' approach addresses this concern most effectively. Generally accepted and understood by the business world at large, this approach encompasses principles of international commercial contracts derived from a variety of legal systems. It's most important 'restatements' are found in the 1980 United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) and the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts (UPICC). Establishing specific standards and "case groups" for the exemptions under review, the analysis treats such recurring elements as the following: contractual risk allocations; unforeseeability of an impediment; impediments beyond the typical sphere of risk and control of the obligor; responsibility for third parties (subcontractors, suppliers); legal impediments (acts of public authority) and effect of mandatory rules; involvement of states or state enterprises; interpretation of force majeure and hardship clauses; hardship threshold test; frustration of purpose; irreconcilable differences; comparison with exemptions under domestic legal systems (impossibility of performance, frustration of contract, impracticability) The book is a major contribution to the development of the use of general principles of law in international commercial arbitration. It may be used as a comprehensive commentary on the force majeure and hardship provisions of the UPICC, as well as on Art. 79 of the CISG. In addition, as an insightful investigation into the fundamental question of the limits of the principle of sanctity of contracts, this book is sure to capture the attention of business lawyers and interested academics everywhere.

Force Majeure and Hardship are commonly invoked in international trade when unforeseen events occur making performance impossible or impracticable. Most national legislators provide rules to deal with these issues, but the specifi c solutions adopted in domestic laws vary substantially from one country to another. In recent years the growing complexity of trade in a globalized world has greatly increased the number of situations where a party can invoke force majeure or hardship. Parties need to be able to analyse the nature and characteristics of force majeure and hardship and look for contractual clauses which can regulate these issues in conformity with their needs. Written by international practitioners, this dossier explores the evolution of the rules on hardship, the ICC Clause on Hardship and the perspectives of contract adaptation by arbitrators. The section on Force Majeure includes an overview of recent arbitral case law (impediment beyond sphere of control and risk of the obligor; foreseeability; causation; notice requirement), analysis of the ICC 2003 Force Majeure Clause and an update on its revision. Two other important themes are included: the relationship between force majeure and applicable law, general principles of law and trade usages as well as the impact of economic sanctions.

General clauses or standards (Generalklauseln, clauses generales) are legal rules which are not precisely formulated, terms and concepts which in fact do not even have a clear core. They are often applied in varying degrees in various legal systems to a rather wide range of contract cases when certain issues arise issues such as abuse of rights, unfairness, good faith, fairness of duty or loyalty or honesty, duty of care, and other such contract terms not lending themselves readily to clear or permanent definition. Here for the first time is a systematic discussion of this kind of rule in the evolving and dynamic context of European contract law. A collection of twelve insightful essays by leading European law authorities, the book is based on a conference organized jointly by the Society of European Contract Law (SECOLA) and l'association Henri Capitant, held in the `grande salle' of the French Supreme Court in Paris in 2005. The subject is approached along three distinct but interconnected avenues: comparative contract law, in which the different models to be found among Member States particularly the Germanic, French, and English common law systems are explored with an eye to differences and common ground;EC contract law, in which the general clause approach has tended to focus on labour law and consumer law, and in which the European Court of Justice more and more assumes the final say; andthe European codification dimension, in which a potential instrument on the European level would compete with national laws and develop closely with them. The authors demonstrate that a focus on general clauses in contract law, embracing as it does a wide range of types of contracts, helps enormously with the necessary integration of legal scholarship and economic approaches, and of legal science and legal practice in the field. Numerous analytic references to relevant cases and EC Directives give a practical impetus to the far-reaching but immediately applicable theory presented in this important book. As European contract law continues to develop rapidly, this seminal contribution is sure to increase in value and usefulness.

Drafting International Contracts is an essential resource for anyone working in international business. The book is a straightforward, easy-to-use tool featuring all the latest trends and developments, including a summary of 25 years of meetings and discussions of the International Contracts Working Group, comprised of professional lawyers, corporate counsel, and academics. It offers a systematic analysis of the main clauses present in international contracts, providing abundant quotations of actual clauses, with critical assessments. The book fosters an understanding of how international contracts are drafted in actual practice. Published under the Transnational Publishers imprint.

To provide valuable legal service to persons in today's Europe, practitioners must be conversant in both national and transnational law. At the European level, the Principles of European Contract Law (PECL) are an increasingly important element of contract law, together with national contract law, as contained in Civil Codes and various national statute. Accordingly, Kluwer Law International has initiated a series of volumes, under the direction of prof. Hondius of the University of Utrecht, comparing PECL with the most important European legal systems. This volume on Italian law is the second in the series. Using a straightforward comparative method, the editors¿ analysis not only reveals a significant area of convergence between the PECL and Italian contract law, but also highlights the main differences between the two bodies of rules. The reasons for these differences, both legal and non-legal (such as historical, social, economic), are clearly set forth. The book provides complete texts, with annotations, of the PECL and the corresponding Italian rules. The presentation proceeds as follows: general provisions (scope of application, general duties, terminology)formation of contracts (general provisions, offer and acceptance, liability for negotiations)authority of agents (general provisions, direct and indirect representation)validityinterpretationcontents and effectsperformancenon-performance and remedies in generalparticular remedies for non-performance (right to performance, withholding performance, termination of the contract, price reduction, damages and interest) The editors commentary includes extensive reference to case law and legal doctrine at all essential points. In this way they provide a comprehensive description of the law in action as well as its evolving trends. In addition, incisive essays by two leading experts in the field of comparative law, prof. Rodolfo Sacco and prof. Michael Joachim Bonell, analyse the relationship of the PECL and Italian law and its wider framework in the harmonisation of private law at the European and international levels. The book is a valuable handbook and guide for both foreign and Italian lawyers. For non-Italian lawyers, be they practitioners or academics, it provides a concise but complete and up-to-date outline of current Italian contract law, organized on the basis of a system (PECL) with which many European lawyers are familiar. For Italian lawyers, it offers a clearer insight into a wider European legal contract system whose importance in the evolution of a common European private law is growing rapidly. Principles of European Contract Law Series 2

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.

Buyers and sellers engaging in the cross-border sale of goods are well-advised to be conversant with the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG), which governs international sales contracts. The CISG has been ratified by 89 states, which together account for over three-quarters of all world trade. This practically-oriented, article-by-article commentary on the CISG will be useful to legal practitioners, counsel and arbitrators dealing with international sales contracts. The in-depth annotations deal extensively with the legal issues likely to arise under each CISG article. The annotations include up-to-date analyses of state court and arbitral decisions, the legal doctrines derived from these decisions, and relevant scholarship to date. Among the issues and topics discussed are the following: interface with national laws; scope of application; obligations of seller and buyer; non-conforming goods and duty to notify; breach of contract and remedies; damages; force majeure exemption; and termination of contract and its consequences. This book is an updated translation of the second German edition of a valued resource in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, and an authority regularly cited by the Swiss Supreme Court. The commentary is influenced by legal authorities from both civil law and common law backgrounds. Throughout, the contributors refer to the cisg-online.ch database, enabling users to locate decisions easily. User-friendly, focused on practical questions, concise but comprehensive, this article-by-article commentary provides a quick and trenchant overview of existing legal opinions and court/arbitral decisions. It will prove immensely valuable to legal practitioners, facilitating their formulation of reliable solutions to legal problems involving the CISG.