Challenges of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods in the Face of the Obligee's Conduct as an Obstacle to Performance of Obligations

Abstract

One of the most important topics in contracts is the obligee's conduct and their role in the process of fulfilling obligations. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) is considered one of the most significant and foundational documents in international trade law. The practices and developments resulting from its adoption have laid the groundwork for the documents and norms of international trade in goods. The aim of the present research, which has been conducted using a descriptive-analytical method with library-based data collection, is to explain the CISG’s approach to the obligee's conduct as an obstacle to the performance of obligations and the challenges arising from it. The findings of the study indicate that the Convention has not explicitly and comprehensively identified the instances of the obligee's conduct as an obstacle to the performance of obligations. Furthermore, the Convention has not assigned a distinct and independent legal title to the obstructive behavior of the obligee. In light of these gaps, the Convention requires substantial revisions in the form of a protocol or an annexed document. This is because the issue of the obligee’s conduct cannot be resolved simply by amending one article or adding one or more articles, as this issue and its effects extend to various parts of the Convention. Additionally, the Convention is not like the law of a specific country but is applied within different legal systems; therefore, the initial approach should involve an assessment of the different legal systems through a joint commission of experts.