International Contracts

Introduction

International business transactions are described in the form of an international contract, containing the objective(s) and commitments of each of the parties involved and the terms which govern the transaction. The method in which a contract is produced differs among cultures. Unless otherwise agreed, the terms of the contract are subject to international contract law; a branch of private international law, which governs the cross-border transactions of private parties.

This Research Guide is intended as a starting point for research on International Contracts. It provides the basic legal materials available in the Peace Palace Library, both in print and electronic format. Handbooks, leading articles, bibliographies, periodicals, serial publications and documents of interest are presented in the Selective Bibliography section. Links to the PPL Catalogue are inserted. The Library’s classification index code 291. Contracts : General Works; Law governing Contracts; Vienna Rules 1926 and subject heading (keyword) International Contracts are instrumental for searching through the Catalogue. Special attention is given to our subscriptions on databases, e-journals, e-books and other electronic resources. Finally, this Research Guide features links to relevant websites and other online resources of particular interest.

Bibliography

Librarian's choice

• International sales terms / Patrick Ostendorf

  Covering international sales terms, this title provides a handy guide for drafting typical sales agreements clauses.

  Ostendorf, P., 2010
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• Law of international contracting / Larry A. DiMatteo

   

  The second edition of this well-known survey of the legal aspects of international business contracting has been needed for some time. Over the course of the last decade, a plethora of new concepts and procedures (many catalyzed by growth in the use of information technology) has wrought many changes in the searching, drafting, and execution of international contracts. This book redefines this field of legal practice to accommodate these changes. Material in the Second Edition includes new or updated coverage of the following and much more: outsourcing legal services; electronic transmission of contracts; inadvertent disclosure of confidential information; joint venture governance; restrictive covenants; distribution agreements; and Chinars”s Uniform Contract Law. A greatly enhanced bibliography, updated to 2008, now includes Internet sources. All of the prized features of the First Edition are of course still here, including analysis of key contract issues unique to various types of contracting, common contract clauses (such as choice of law and dispute resolution clauses), insights gleaned from actual cases and arbitral proceedings, and clear explanation of the principles of good contract drafting. The major relevant international conventions, model laws, pertinent national laws (such as the UCC), legal guides, and other documents and instruments are all covered, with primary texts provided in appendices. Given the legal liability that can result from the failure to take private international law developments into account, this book is not only valuable but necessary. As an adroit combination of up-to-date theoretical underpinning and eminently practical guidance, The book will continue to serve practitioners well in this new edition.

   

  DiMatteo, L.A., 2009
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• Commentary on the UNIDROIT principles of international commercial contracts (PICC) / Stefan Vogenauer and Jan Kleinheisterkamp (eds.)

  The UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts are the result of the ambitious quest for codifying the lex mercatoria, i.e. those unwritten rules of the game by which merchants presumably have always understood to do international business. Since the publication of their first version in 1994, the UNIDROIT Principles have had an impressive success. They have become a serious alternative to national contract laws in international disputes decided by arbitral tribunals, such as those administered by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). At the same time, they have been accepted as a model for reforming the laws on international contract (as recently Russia, Lithuania, and China). With the publication of a new version of the Principles in 2004, this first phase of codifying international contract law is now considered to be finished. While there is much writing about the theoretic legal nature and the practical applicability of the Principles, there is hardly any research on their substance, meaning their substantive rules on contracts. This book fills this gap. A comprehensive analysis of each provision of the Principles allows a better understanding of the rules governing international contracts. In short, this book contributes to make the application of the Principles more predictable and thus more efficient.
  Vogenauer, S., J.Kleisterkamp )eds.), 2009
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Database

Library Blogs

• UNCITRAL Rotterdam Rules

  Following the adoption of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce at its twenty-ninth session in 1996, the United Nations Commission on Trade Law (UNCITRAL) considered, as part of the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) project, a proposal to include in its work programme a review of current practices and laws in the area of the international carriage of goods by sea, with a view to establishing the need for uniform rules where no such rules existed and with a view to achieving greater uniformity of laws.

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Links

See also

More Research guides on Private International Law

• Hague Conference on Private International Law
• Intellectual Property
• International Commercial Arbitration
• International Commercial Law
• International Family Law
• International Law of Procedure
• Private International Law