The CISG in Israel

Abstract

Israel adopted the CISG, on October 25, 1999. However, as the deposition of Israel's instrument of accession to the CISG was delayed until January 22, 2002, Israel officially became a Contracting State only as late as February 1, 2003. The same statute also repealed the two 1964 Hague CISGs on the International Sale of Goods. The late adoption of the CISG is one of the factors responsible for the relatively small body of Israeli case law relying directly on the CISG. Another, and arguably not less significant factor, concerns the lack of awareness on the part of many practicing lawyers of the existence or relevance of the CISG. The paucity of Israeli scholarly commentary on the CISG poses an additional obstacle to Israeli lawyers and law students understanding of the CISG. Finally, as in other jurisdictions, the low level of reliance on the CISG might be explained to a considerable extent by the general reluctance of professional international traders and their lawyers to rely on the legal system, preferring arbitration or alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.

Despite the scarcity of Israeli case law, two factors mitigate this problem. First, in a number of Israeli Supreme Court cases a rather comprehensive analysis is offered by the Court. Furthermore, some of these cases discuss not only the appropriate interpretation of relevant provisions, but also the underlying policies and principles that the judiciary should apply in resolving international sales disputes. Second, some of the cases which involve transactions that were concluded prior to 2003 and thus are officially based on Uniform Law on the International Sale of Goods (ULIS), which was adopted at The Hague on July 1, 1964, offer insights into issues which today are raised by parallel provisions in the CISG. Cases explicitly referencing the CISG have been included in this chapter.