Tutorial of International Trade Law

Frontiers in Law, 2023

The intricate nature of international trade is encapsulated in the complexities of CIF (Cost, Insurance, and Freight) contracts, which stand at the intersection of the sale of goods and the sale of documents. This paper seeks to dissect the pivotal roles played by documents and goods within CIF contracts and to ascertain whether these contracts are more accurately defined as sales of documents rather than sales of goods. By examining legal cases and dissecting the contractual obligations of parties involved in CIF contracts, this study aims to shed light on the essence of these contracts in the context of international law and trade practices. The research is divided into four main parts. Initially, it analyzes the duties of parties and the role of CIF documents in the sale of goods. The second part delves into the implications of documents and goods concerning the transfer of risk and property, probing into the critical claim of documents. The third part scrutinizes the buyer's right to refuse the documents or the goods, and which aspect takes precedence. The fourth part evaluates the claim that CIF contracts made en route are essentially 'sales of documents'. This study culminates by presenting arguments on the nature of CIF contracts, weighing the significance of documents against the goods themselves. Despite the increasing tendency to use documents to represent physical goods in trade, this paper concludes that CIF contracts inherently constitute contracts for the sale of goods. It highlights the distinctive rights related to the rejection of either documents or goods, thereby reinforcing the primacy of the actual goods over their documentary representations in CIF contracts.

Free on Board" means that the seller fulfils his obligation to deliver when the goods have passed over the ship's rail at the named port of shipment. This means that the buyer has to bear all costs and risks of loss of or damage to the goods from that point.

International Conference on Eurasian Economies 2015, 2015

In practice, breach of contract cases mostly involve controversies over the failure of the seller to deliver conforming goods in accordance with the contract. Article 35 CISG defines the obligation of the seller to deliver conforming goods in a very broad and uniformed manner as it states that, the seller must deliver goods which are of the quantity, quality and description required by the contract and which are contained or packaged in the manner required by the contract. CISG provides two criteria for the assessment of the non-conformity of goods. One of them is called "subjective" criterion of non-conformity. It goes without saying that the goods delivered shall be in conformity with all specifications agreed upon by the parties whether explicitly or implicitly. The other one is called "objective" criterion. If the agreement of the parties does not involve any specifications at alllike in the case of routine and quick orders of purchase, or if the agreement of the parties is insufficient in this respect, conformity of the goods will be decided according to the objective criterion. In accordance with Article 35 CISG, Article 36 CISG establishes the responsibility of the seller for any lack of conformity which exists at the time when the risk passes to the buyer, even though the lack of conformity becomes apparent only after that time. Regarding this, Article 67 CISG defines the moment at which the risk passes to the buyer and thus, divides the responsibility between the seller and the buyer.

INTRDUCTION Contracts for the sale of goods under English law are governed nationally by the Common Law as well as other laws including the Sales Of Good Act (SOGA) 1979 and the CRA 2015 for England and the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) for united states at the federal level. However, in the case of international contracts, the United Nations Convention on International Sale Goods Contracts (CISG) plays an important role. It has an almost complete instrument to review any contract between the parties. Although some of the CISG instruments have been adapted to English law, some of them are still under consideration. 1 Following the requirement of an appropriate instrument of international sales law in the 20th century, it was found that a harmonization measure would strengthen global trade, advance decency and reduce the cost of trade arrangement. 2 following the inadequacy of the two Hague Conventions in 1964: (ULIS) and (ULF). The Vienna Convention on the International Sale of Goods (CISG) was signed on 11 April 1980 and entered into force on January 1, 1988, after being ratified by 10 countries is now adopted in nearly 89 countries that account for more than three-quarters of international trade. 3 This figure includes most European Union countries, with the exception of the United Kingdom, Ireland, Malta and Portugal. ''The evolution of the contract began initially with forms of action based on the pact and debt, roughly equivalent to what we now know as sealed contracts and simple contracts.'' 4 Indeed, the contract is a legally binding agreement that recognizes and governs the rights and duties of the parties to the agreement. 5 An agreement usually involves the exchange of goods, services, money or promises from one or the other. The sales contract is a contract by which a seller transfers or agrees to transfer ownership of the goods to a buyer in exchange for a cash prize; 6 A sales contract may be absolute or conditional depending on the desire to contract parties.

Akademik Tarih ve Düşünce Dergisi , 2025

In the world of commercial exchanges, it often happens that the buyer and seller, each by sending separate correspondence and in response, declare their intention to conclude a sales contract. General terms and forms that are previously regulated in the same way for all contracts by the buyer or seller are exchanged between the parties. These general terms may conflict with each other in the forms of the buyer and seller. When a dispute arises between the parties to a contract, the question is whether a contract has been concluded despite this discrepancy, and if so, what are the purposes of this contract? The totality of the circumstances, conditions, and conduct of the parties after the exchange of forms usually indicates the conclusion of a valid contract, and it is more logical that the meaning of this contract, also in the part that refers to the conflicting forms, should be determined by the law governing the contract, rather than by one of the conflicting terms proposed by the parties (for example, the first Akademik Tarih ve Düşünce Dergisi Cilt:12 / Sayı:1 Yawar & Amany / 199-217 Şubat 2025 200 or the last of them in terms of the priority and delay of the exchanged forms). If the law governing the contract is the contract for the international sale of goods, this role is assigned to the contract.

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2012

Journal of Legal Methodology, Policy, and Governance (ISSN: 2581-8554), 2019

The liberalisation of the economy coupled with privatisation and globalisation, to ensure robust development of international trade, the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (“CISG”) was established. As the preamble states, the CISG not only increases the predictableness and uniformity in international contract law, it also makes paves way for a variety of social, economic and legal systems to provide for measures for elimination of obstacles in international trade. Thus, with CISG, international sale of goods which is fundamentally based on concepts such as equality and reciprocal benefits, can occur. There has been a sharp increase in the number of countries that have adopted the CISG and the worldwide cases which deal with its application. In this context of amplified application of the CISG and the fact that India is a major player in the international trade business, it becomes imperative to discuss and analyse the distinctions between the CISG, and the Indian Contract Act, 1872 (“ICA”) and the Sale of Goods Act, 1930 (“SGA”). The ICA, which is the source of the oldest mercantile laws in India, provides central laws which administers and regulates contracts. The SGA deals only with sale of goods. The CISG is a contemporary of these statues which concerns itself with formation of contracts, obligation of buyers and sellers and the remedies for the breach contracts. Through this essay, the authors seek to assess the various elements and principles of a legally binding contract from the viewpoint of the CISG and the two Indian legislations– thus providing a comprehensive layout of the distinctions between the two.

Pace International Law Review, 2002

2007