International Sale of Goods (LAWS70069)

This subject is at its core is an advanced common law treatment of international trade law dealing with the import and export of goods by sea. Apart from CIF, FOB and related matters, it deals with bankers’ letters of credit financing such sales. Approximately 20 per cent of the course is also dedicated to the United Nations Convention on the International Sale of Goods 1980, with emphasis on the differences between this instrument and the common law approach. This subject deals with the international sale of goods, primarily with respect to the sale of commodities, where the interplay between sale as a commercial activity and sale as a speculative instrument can most acutely be observed. Uniformity is an important theme is this subject, whether it is based upon the choice of a standard form contract and the same applicable national law, or the uniformity that is manifest in the national law of the United Nations Convention on the International Sale of Goods 1980.

Principal topics include:

• The passing of title to, and risk in, the goods
• Allocation of responsibility for arranging carriage and insurance
• The relationship between the carriage and insurance contracts and the sale contract
• Export and import licences
• Bills of lading and the network of contracts that work to effect international sales
• How and when payment is to be made for the goods
• The International Chamber of Commerce Incoterms 2010
• The application and content of the UN Convention on the International Sales of Goods (CISG)
• Non-conformity of goods and the buyer’s remedies
• Documentary letters of credit and documentary collection
• Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits 2007 (UCP 600).