Appendix E. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods

• Author: Kevin J. Fandl
• Profession: Director of the Global Legal Education Institute
• Pages: 227-252

227

The United Nations

Convention on Contracts

for the International Sale of

Goods (CISG)

Appendix E

Introduction

The CISG was adopted on April 11, 1980 in an effort to provide unifor-

mity in contracts for the international sale of goods. As the name implies,

the CISG only applies to the sale of goods. Unlike the UCC, the CISG

does not apply to sales between consumers—it only applies to merchants.

As of this writing, there are 76 member states to the CISG. A notable

exception to the membership body is the United Kingdom.

To cite the CISG in a U.S. legal document: 52 Federal Register 6262,

6264-6280 (March 2, 1987); United States Code Annotated, Title 15,

Appendix (Supp. 1987).

Key Provisions

Chapter I: Sphere of Application

Article 1

(1) This Convention applies to contracts of sale of goods between parties

whose places of business are in different States:

(a) when the States are Contracting States; or

(b) when the rules of private international law lead to the application

of the law of a Contracting State.

228 APPENDIX E

(2) The fact that the parties have their places of business in different States

is to be disregarded whenever this fact does not appear either from the

contract or from any dealings between, or from information disclosed by,

the parties at any time before or at the conclusion of the contract.

(3) Neither the nationality of the parties nor the civil or commercial char-

acter of the parties or of the contract is to be taken into consideration in

determining the application of this Convention.

Article 2

This Convention does not apply to sales:

(a) of goods bought for personal, family or household use, unless the

seller, at any time before or at the conclusion of the contract, neither

knew nor ought to have known that the goods were bought for any

such use;

(b) by auction;

(c) on execution or otherwise by authority of law;

(d) of stocks, shares, investment securities, negotiable instruments or

money;

(e) of ships, vessels, hovercraft or aircraft;

(f) of electricity.

Article 3

(1) Contracts for the supply of goods to be manufactured or produced are

to be considered sales unless the party who orders the goods undertakes to

supply a substantial part of the materials necessary for such manufacture

or production.

(2) This Convention does not apply to contracts in which the preponderant

part of the obligations of the party who furnishes the goods consists in the

supply of labour or other services.

Article 4

This Convention governs only the formation of the contract of sale and the

rights and obligations of the seller and the buyer arising from such a con-

tract. In particular, except as otherwise expressly provided in this Conven-

tion, it is not concerned with: