United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods

The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG; the Vienna Convention) is a treaty that codifies uniform international sales law. It has been ratified by 91 states, which account for a significant proportion of world trade, making it one of the most successful international uniform laws. Liechtenstein was the most recent state to adopt the Convention, having acceded to it on 30 April 2019.'Battle of the Forms' – Under the CISG, a reply to an offer that purports to be an acceptance, but has additions, limitations, or other modifications, is generally considered a rejection and counteroffer. The UCC, on the other hand, tries to avoid the 'battle of the forms' that can result from such a rule, and allows an expression of acceptance to be operative, unless the acceptance states that it is conditioned on the offeror consenting to the additional or different terms contained in the acceptance. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG; the Vienna Convention) is a treaty that codifies uniform international sales law. It has been ratified by 91 states, which account for a significant proportion of world trade, making it one of the most successful international uniform laws. Liechtenstein was the most recent state to adopt the Convention, having acceded to it on 30 April 2019. The CISG was developed by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), and was signed in Vienna in 1980. The CISG is sometimes referred to as the Vienna Convention (but is not to be confused with other treaties signed in Vienna). It came into force as a multilateral treaty on 1 January 1988, after being ratified by 11 countries. The CISG allows exporters to avoid choice of law issues, as the CISG offers 'accepted substantive rules on which contracting parties, courts, and arbitrators may rely'. Unless excluded by the express terms of a contract, the CISG is deemed to be incorporated into (and supplant) any otherwise applicable domestic law(s) with respect to a transaction in goods between parties from different Contracting States. The CISG has been regarded as a success for the UNCITRAL, as the Convention has been accepted by states from 'every geographical region, every stage of economic development and every major legal, social and economic system'. Countries that have ratified the CISG are referred to within the treaty as 'Contracting States'. Of the uniform law conventions, the CISG has been described as having 'the greatest influence on the law of worldwide trans-border commerce'. It has been described as a great legislative achievement, and the 'most successful international document so far' in unified international sales law, in part due to its flexibility in allowing Contracting States the option of taking exception to certain specified articles. This flexibility was instrumental in convincing states with disparate legal traditions to subscribe to an otherwise uniform code. While certain State parties to the CISG have lodged declarations, the vast majority – 69 of the current 91 Contracting States – have chosen to accede to the Convention without any declaration. The CISG is the basis of the annual Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot held in Vienna in the week before Easter (and now also in Hong Kong). Teams from law schools around the world take part. The Moot is organised by Pace University, which keeps a definitive source of information on the CISG. As of 2019, the following 91 states have ratified, acceded to, approved, accepted, or succeeded to the Convention: The Convention has been signed, but not ratified, by Ghana and Venezuela.