What considerations do you need to take into account when planning an agreement? What writing techniques will ensure that your contract is suited to your needs? What provisions should you include in such a contract? Michala Meiselles answers these questio

Drafting an international contract can be a risky business. Yet with the increasing globalization of markets, these cross-border contracts are becoming a common practice for most traders, as well as for the lawyers assisting them. At the same time, international contracts remain a difficult and mysterious subject for business people as well as their lawyers. In his new book, Drafting and Negotiating International Commercial Contracts, Professor Fabio Bortolotti, a world-renowned expert on contract law, clarifies the issues surrounding these contracts and provides solutions to the thorny problems they raise: choice of the applicable law choice of jurisdiction international arbitration the use of more international drafting techniques hardship, force majeure and liquidated damages As an added feature, this volume provides insights into the basic requirements of a well-drafted contract and analyzes in depth the negotiating process. It concludes with incisive commentary on the model contracts developed by the International Chamber of Commerce. Lawyers and other legal professionals will find in these pages the tools they need to ensure their contracts meet the requirements of a globalized world.

The rules presented in this volume of "Principles of European Law" deal with commercial agency, franchise and distribution contracts, and with other contracts where one party uses the other party's skill and efforts to bring its products to the market. Although these Principles are not directly applicable to other long-term (commercial) contracts, some of the Articles may be applied to such contracts by way of analogy where appropriate. The economic function of all three contracts is that they are instrumental in bringing products to the market. They are so-called vertical agreements, as they are agreements between economic actors on different levels in the production and distribution chain. Obviously, the economic importance of these contracts is enormous since they form the connection between producers and retailers who sell the products to consumers and other final users. There are only very few economic sectors where producers regularly sell their products directly to final consumer users. Goodwill compensation after the ending of a distribution contract, the moment at which the agent's commission is due, the franchisor's obligation to maintain the good reputation of the network are but a few examples of issues where specific rules are needed in order to give legal practice some guidance and to provide practitioners with a reasonable degree of legal certainty.