Reflections on the Plight of the CISG in Canada: A Comparative Approach

Abstract

This paper will re-consider the impact of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (“CISG”) on the Canadian legal system. Utilizing a comparative approach, and the results of 24 country reports compiled by Franco Ferrari, published in 2008, this paper will focus on Canada’s relative performance, vis-a-vis the other 23 signatory states to the CISG that were cited in the report. In compiling the Canadian report, Prof. John McEvoy concluded that while the CISG has entered Canadian legal consciousness, this has been more in terms of its avoidance rather than its application to international sale of goods transactions. But how does Canada perform relative to the other states covered in the report? This paper will, thus, attempt to answer the following: to what extent has the CISG had de facto influence within our domestic legal system, and how does this compare to results from other signatory states? Four areas will be examined and compared: The CISG’s impact on Canadian lawyers; its impact on scholars; the impact of the CISG on Canadian courts; and its impact on legislators. Where comparative convergence and divergence are noted in the application of the CISG in Canada, the paper will proffer a number of hypotheses to explain Canada’s reluctant and cursory adoption of the CISG.

Keywords: CISG, UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, International Sales Law, Canadian Legal System, Comparative Law, Private International Law, International Commercial Law