Chapter 9. Conclusion
| Pages | 128-144 |
| Author | Bruno Zeller |
Chapter9
Conclusion
A. Introduction
This book has attempted to demonstrate that the CISG has successfully
unified international sales laws and has been the most successful
international document so far. As Hartnell suggested, ‘unification of the law
governing the international sale of goods is an exercise in reconciling the
necessary with the possible’.360 However, at the beginning of the
unification process the question must be asked: what are we aiming for?
Sautet answered that question in the following fashion:
The fact that pessimists are wrong does not prove that optimists are right.
To describe the future of our civilization as a return to barbarity could be
nonsense. However, that does not at all justify the undisputed reign of
market laws over the destiny of humanity.361
We have moved from a modernist world to what might be called a
postmodernist world. It is an undisputed fact that the absolute sovereignty
of states over international transactions has ceased. International
instruments are on the rise and a new and much wider rhetorical community
requires legal certainty in its dealings. Knowing what we are aiming at
requires that ‘we suspend judgment for an instant while we review what we
have been and where we are’.362 This book has attempted to do so albeit in
a limited way. Only certain critical or controversial issues have been
examined and some conclusions as to the state of advancement have been
made.
In order to be of practical value, a ‘rule of law’ of uniform law has to be
established. It is the norm within uniform law. The problem is whether the
CISG has been treated like any other domestic rule of law or whether the
advantages of a supranational rule of law have been recognised. The
advantage of the CISG is that it has state legitimacy and contains its own
values in establishing its own legitimacy.363
B. Wherearewe now?
Of immense assistance in this evolutionary process is the fact that
tribunals and courts around the world have access to databases regarding
the CISG, which unifies a community of people around the text of the
Convention.364 Cook suggested that:
There is little hesitation to embrace CISG as a solid compromise position if
the application of the U.C.C is not available.365
After 17 years, the growth of the material that is available on websites is
striking and the ‘uniformity of cases from many jurisdictions suggests a
high awareness of each other’s work’.366
Kastely in 1988 already foresaw the importance of such a development
when she wrote:
What is called for, in essence, is the development of a jurisprudence of
international trade. This is the heart of the rhetorical aspiration [of the
CISG]. Its success directly depends on the achievement of this goal.367
Arguably, this goal has been achieved and the CISG has succeeded to
form the basis of a unified international sales law.
The CISG has also influenced domestic law and has been used as a
model for reform. Most importantly, the Convention has influenced the
drafting of the EC Directive convening the sale of consumer goods.368 This
is significant, as the CISG specifically excludes consumer contracts from its
sphere of influence pursuant to article 2. As such, the EC Directive is not a
product of primarily copying existing rules and regulations but an adoption
of principles and, hence, an awareness that the underpinning philosophical
structure of the CISG is well suited to serve today’s commerce.
Furthermore, the influence of the CISG is also noticeable in the Unified
Business Law Act drawn up by the OHADA group of African nations. The
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