Contracts for the International Sale of Goods

Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (Vienna, 1980)

The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) entered into force on January 1, 1988 for the 11 contracting parties, including the United States. The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) drafted the CISG. Currently the CISG has seventy-six parties. The CISG aims to provide an internationally recognizable body of law governing the sale of goods across international borders.

I. UNCITRAL

• United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). This extensive site has the text of conventions and model laws, in such areas as sale of goods, commercial arbitration, electronic commerce, international contracts, and international insolvency.

• Select UNCITRAL Texts & Status for full-text documents arranged by topic. For each document find links for relevant General Assembly resolutions, document texts, status including a listing of parties, and Travaux préparatoires (preparatory documents). The UNCITRAL Secretariat prepares yearly a document containing the status of conventions and model laws, which is available by clicking the link for the corresponding UNCITRAL Commission session.

• The UNCITRAL Yearbook is a compilation of all substantive documents related to the work of the Commission and its Working Groups. Yearbooks are available 1968-2004. Annual Reports of the Commission, Commission documents, Working Groups documents, Conference room papers, Information series papers, and an UNCITRAL bibliography.

II. CONVENTION ON CONTRACTS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL SALE OF GOODS (CISG)

• 1980 - Convention for the International Sale of Goods (UNCITRAL). Includes Text of the 1980 CISG, General Assembly resolution, status and preparatory documents. A companion convention to the CISG, the Convention on the Limitation Period in the International Sale of Goods entered into force in August 1988 and was ratified by the United States in 1994.

• Case Law on UNCITRAL Texts (CLOUT), UNCITRAL. Abstracts of court decisions and arbitral awards relating to UNCITRAL texts. Many decisions in CLOUT refer to CISG. For a thorough understanding of CLOUT, read the very useful User's Guide as contained in A/CN.9/SER.C/GUIDE/1/Rev.1.

• UNILEX on CISG & UNIDROIT Principles: International Caselaw & Bibliography. International caselaw and bibliography on the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods and the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts. Each instrument includes the convention text and contracting parties, cases (arranged by date, country, arbitral award or article/issue), and bibliography.

• CISG - Pace University School of Law, Pace Law Library & Institute of International Commercial Law. Find an annotated text of the CISG with cases, legislative history and scholarly articles arranged by CISG article. A listing of CISG cases, many in English translation, with a search form for cases. Links for texts of the CISG in different languages and identification of contracting states. Other CISG links. Bibliography has links for many articles in full-text.

• Autonomous Network of CISG Websites. Provided by the Pace Law School CISG Database.

• Global Sales Law - CISG online. This website provides cases, materials and legal texts, including Commentary on the Draft Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, UN DOC. A/CONF. 97/5.
  
   

PLEASE NOTE: The websites listed in this guide are for information only and are not endorsed or supported by the Cook County Law Library. Please independently verify the accuracy and currency of all information. Consult an attorney for legal advice.

Revised April 2016