Issues Relating to Exemption ('Force Majeure') Under Article 79 of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods ('CISG')

Abstract:     
The posting contains drafts excerpts from a forthcoming new (4th) edition of John Honnold's treatise Uniform Law for International Sales under the 1980 United Nations Convention. The posting is comprised of new materials proposed to be inserted in the discussion of Article 79 (Exemption) of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. This article, discussed in §§ 423 et. seq. of Professor Honnold's treatise, is a force majeure provision providing that a party is exempt from liability for damages for a failure to perform when the requirements of the section are met. The new material included in this posting would address issues not discussed in the current version (3rd edition, 1999) of the treatise, or would amplify discussion of issues in the current edition. Those issues include: whether a seller that has delivered non-conforming goods may claim exemption under Article 79; the proper approach to situations involving an unexpected loss in the value of a return performance (frustration of purpose); whether a party to a transaction governed by the CISG can invoke domestic hardship doctrines; and whether Article 79 applies to situations involving initial impossibility (facts in existence at the time the contract is concluded).

Keywords: Sales, International Sales, Sales Convention, United Nations Sales Convention, CISG, Exemption, Force Majeure, Excuse, Frustration of Purpose, Hardship, Mistake, Conformity of Goods

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