Afterthoughts: International Commercial Contracts and Arbitration

Australian International Law Journal, Vol. 17, pp. 197-204, 2010

Sydney Law School Research Paper No. 10/144

9 Pages Posted: 21 Feb 2011 Last revised: 3 May 2011

See all articles by Luke R. Nottage

Luke R. Nottage

The University of Sydney - Faculty of Law; The University of Sydney - Australian Network for Japanese Law; University of Wollongong

Date Written: May 1, 2011

Abstract

This article mainly responds to Professor Bonell’s three proposals to expand usage of the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts (UPICC). As UPICC are primarily opt-in rules, they can be more ambitious than the United Nations Sales Convention (CISG). They also needed to be, being designed for all commercial contracts - including many more relational contracts. This imparts a somewhat different 'vibe' to UPICC, creating one impediment to the proposal for a UN Declaration urging interpretation of CISG in light of UPICC. As a formal reasoning based legal system, particularly in contract law, Australia also still struggles with such soft law initiatives. More promising will be law reform clarifying that courts, not just arbitrators in proceedings with the seat in Australia governed by the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration, are free to apply 'rules of law' - including UPICC - as the governing law. Elevating UPICC into a Model Law for International Commercial Contracts would also be useful. Australia could then adopt or adapt provisions as the basis for more comprehensive reform of its contract law. This would better mesh with burgeoning relational transactions, and many norms (such as good faith) could also extend to domestic dealings.

Keywords: international law, contract law, arbitration, lex mercatoria, comparative law, Australian law, CISG, UPICC

JEL Classification: K10, K12, K30, K33

Suggested Citation

Nottage, Luke R., Afterthoughts: International Commercial Contracts and Arbitration (May 1, 2011). Australian International Law Journal, Vol. 17, pp. 197-204, 2010, Sydney Law School Research Paper No. 10/144, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1725617

Luke R. Nottage (Contact Author)

The University of Sydney - Faculty of Law ( email )

New Law Building, F10
The University of Sydney
Sydney, NSW 2006
Australia

The University of Sydney - Australian Network for Japanese Law

Room 640, Building F10, Eastern Avenue
Sydney, NSW 2006
Australia

University of Wollongong ( email )

Northfields Avenue
Wollongong, New South Wales 2522
Australia

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
380
Abstract Views
2,983
Rank
143,201
PlumX Metrics