Overview
Merchants, driven by economic goals, have always spoken in a common language. A manifestation of this common language is the use of standard trade terms in cross-border trade. Chapter 1 of Part I starts by concentrating on frequently used terms, such as CIF (cost, insurance, freight) and FOB (free on board), and examines their interpretation in English law. As and where relevant, reference is made to the Sale of Goods Act 1979. Chapter 1 then moves on to trade terms under the INCOTERMS 2010 drafted by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). Chapter 1 also contains useful tables listing the responsibilities of the seller and the buyer under the different trade terms.
As part of the drive toward harmonising the law relating to international sales, the 1970s witnessed the drafting of the Convention on the International Sale of Goods by the United Nations Commission of International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), which has proved, despite the compromises, an extremely popular convention with a growing databank of cases decided in different jurisdictions. Although the United Kingdom (UK) is yet to ratify this convention, Chapter 2 provides a comprehensive account of this instrument adopted in 1980 for a number of reasons. First, the UK may ratify this convention. Second, given its wide ratification by important trading nations, such as the US, and member states of the European Union, courts in England will be interpreting this convention – for instance, where the parties have agreed to apply the convention to their sale contract. Finally, a study of international sales law will be incomplete, regardless of whether a country has ratified the Convention on the International Sale of Goods 1980 (i.e., the ‘Vienna Convention’) or not, due to its dominant position on the international sales law scene. It has been in force since 1988. Its wide acceptance and the resulting database of cases make the study of the Vienna Convention not only academically interesting, but practically relevant.
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