Application of the Vienna Convention on the International Sale of Goods

Industry: Retail Trade

The Vienna Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods was passed in 1969, and entered into force in 1980. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Convention is applied on the basis of the succession of laws and international treaties taken from the former SFRY.

The application of the Convention relates to contracts for the sale of goods concluded between parties having their headquarters in the territories of different states, and only in cases of states which signed and ratified the Convention or when the rules of private international law refer to the application of the rights of one of the contracting states.

The main goal of the Convention was to regulate the issues of an international element in the sale of goods, which are not adequately solved under to the positive legislation of the participating countries, on the one hand, and contribute to the development of international trade to the satisfaction of participating countries, on the other hand. Of course, the Convention itself does not regulate all issues of a specific area, but only those that are being considered as significant.

It also refers to the application of international customs and general principles, i.e. to the application of the applicable law under the rules of private international law.

However, when signing a contract for the sale of goods with international elements, some contracting parties also agree to apply this Convention, considering that the contract itself is given a greater importance if it determines that the provisions of the Vienna Convention on International Sale of Goods will be applied as well as the international arbitration.

Of course, it is logical that when you conclude a contract, and when you at the same time agree to the application of a particular law or convention, that you are also familiar with the content and application of the same, as well as consequences of applying it.

So when we come to the point that we have to exercise our rights in court, then we learn that the Vienna Convention, which gave significance to our contract at the beginning, also foreseen certain exceptions and does not apply to all cases. And then, even if these international rules did not protect our rights the way we imagined when contracting the same then we raise the issue what to do next?

Therefore, in order to protect personal interests, before contracting the application of some provisions, it would be desirable to learn more about the same, even though this is not the case.

In that sense, the Vienna Convention is in place to ensure the equal protection of the interests of both parties, but firstly to protect and promote the development of international trade.

From the point of view of international relations a question arises on how much the interest of an individual, i.e. a company is more important in relation to the interests of international trade and the importance it has on the international level.

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Natasa Skrbic Natasa Skrbic

Natasa Skrbic is a Senior Associate employed by the Law Firm SAJIC since 2013. Natasa graduated from the University of Banja Luka School of Law in 2011.

Banja Luka - Bosnia & Herzegovina

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