For information only - not an official document
UNIS/L/256
28 November 2017
VIENNA, 28 November (UN Information Service) - On 22 November, the Czech Republic deposited an instrument with the Secretary-General of the United Nations withdrawing its declaration made under article 95 of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). With this action, the Czech Republic allows application of the CISG when the rules of private international law lead to the application of the law of a Contracting State, as most CISG State Parties do.
The CISG provides an equitable and modern uniform framework for the contract of sale, which is the backbone of international trade in all countries, irrespective of their legal tradition or level of economic development. The CISG is therefore considered to be one of the core conventions in international trade law.
The CISG, which has been adopted by a large number of major trading countries, establishes a comprehensive code of legal rules governing the formation of contracts for the international sale of goods, the obligations of the buyer and seller, remedies for breach of contract and other aspects of the contract. The CISG currently has 88 State Parties.
The Czech Republic's action is part of a current trend for States to reconsider declarations made upon signing or acceding to the CISG. Withdrawal of these declarations increases the level of legal uniformity in the scope of application of the Convention.
On the same date, the Czech Republic also withdrew a declaration made under article XII of the Protocol Amending the Convention on the Limitation Period in the International Sale of Goods. As a result, under Czech law the Convention on the Limitation Period in the International Sale of Goods (Limitation Convention), as amended, will apply when the rules of private international law make the law of a Contracting State applicable to the contract of sale.
The Limitation Convention, adopted in 1974, establishes uniform rules governing the period of time within which legal proceedings arising from an international sales contract must be initiated. The Convention was amended by a Protocol adopted in 1980 to harmonize it with the CISG, which it functionally complements. The Limitation Convention has 30 State parties, and the Limitation Convention as amended by the 1980 Protocol has 23 State parties.
The withdrawal of both declarations will take effect on 1 June 2018.
Further information on the CISG and on the Limitation Convention is available on the UNCITRAL website at www.uncitral.org.
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The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) is the core legal body of the United Nations system in the field of international trade law. Its mandate is to remove legal obstacles to international trade by progressively modernizing and harmonizing trade law. It prepares legal texts in a number of key areas such as international commercial dispute settlement, electronic commerce, insolvency, international payments, sale of goods, transport law, procurement and infrastructure development. UNCITRAL also provides technical assistance to law reform activities, including assisting Member States to review and assess their law reform needs and to draft the legislation required to implement UNCITRAL texts. The UNCITRAL Secretariat is located in Vienna, Austria, and maintains a website at www.uncitral.org .
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For information contact:
Jenny
Clift
Principal Legal Officer
UNCITRAL Secretariat
Email: jenny.clift[at]uncitral.org
