All in all, the CISG has met with resounding acceptance around the globe. Today, the CISG counts 67 Contracting States among its members, covering more than 70 per cent of global trade and production of goods; of the 50 leading exporters and importers in world merchandise, over 60 per cent are Contracting States to the CISG. Of those large industrial nations that are not yet Contracting States to the CISG, notably the UK, Japan and Korea, both internal and external pressure to ratify is rising. Currently, approximately 1,300 court and arbitral decisions decided under the CISG have been handed down from 32 judicial instances, and more than 6,500 academic publica-tions exist in 24 languages. This is in addition to the numerous conferences and other forms of academic discourse dealing with the Convention, most notably the CISG Advisory Council, a global body of CISG and international sales law experts that meets on a regular basis to discuss the significant developments in the field of international sales law and aims at promoting the uniform interpretation of the CISG. Perhaps the most tangible success of the CISG can be seen in the number of domestic sales laws that have used it as a model. Notably, many Scandinavian countries have used the CISG as the background for the modification of their domestic sales laws, as did Germany in its 2002 Schuldrechtsreform (Revision of the Law of Obligations) and The Netherlands in drafting the Law of Obligations in the Wetboek (Civil Code). Furthermore, many of the former Socialist states in Eastern Europe, including Estonia, the Czech Republic and Croatia, are also basing the re-development of their private and domestic sales and com-mercial laws on CISG concepts. Completing the CISG’s global impact is the reform of the Chinese private law. The New Code of Obligations of China has adopted many legal concepts and institutions promulgated in the CISG and the drafters have confirmed using the CISG as a source of inspiration in this regard. In addition, not only domestic sales laws, but also, increasingly, regional and inter-national principles are availing themselves of CISG principles to guide their drafting. The general approach of the Principles for International Commercial Contracts drafted by UNIDROIT (the UNIDROIT Principles) and the Principles of European Contract Law, which are intended to pave the way for a European or an international law of contract, can be traced back to the CISG. The same is true of the European Directive on Consumer Sales, which mirrors the concepts of conformity and non-conformity set out in the CISG. Furthermore, the OHADA, a union of 16 African states, has adopted a common sales law, which follows the CISG almost to the letter. Efforts at unification of the law are often met with the criticism that the unique peculiarities and historical variety of local laws are thereby ‘bulldozed’ by an all-consuming ‘international’ law. This is not the intention of the CISG. It certainly aims to provide a certain, uniform and consistent basis for defining the scope and obligations of international sales contracts for those states that have declared their intention to be bound by it. Moreover, the CISG serves as a stimulus for the development, revision and interpretation of domestic laws, under consideration and in awareness of genuine international concepts, which can only be of benefit to the states concerned.

DOI link for All in all, the CISG has met with resounding acceptance around the globe. Today, the CISG counts 67 Contracting States among its members, covering more than 70 per cent of global trade and production of goods; of the 50 leading exporters and importers in world merchandise, over 60 per cent are Contracting States to the CISG. Of those large industrial nations that are not yet Contracting States to the CISG, notably the UK, Japan and Korea, both internal and external pressure to ratify is rising. Currently, approximately 1,300 court and arbitral decisions decided under the CISG have been handed down from 32 judicial instances, and more than 6,500 academic publica-tions exist in 24 languages. This is in addition to the numerous conferences and other forms of academic discourse dealing with the Convention, most notably the CISG Advisory Council, a global body of CISG and international sales law experts that meets on a regular basis to discuss the significant developments in the field of international sales law and aims at promoting the uniform interpretation of the CISG. Perhaps the most tangible success of the CISG can be seen in the number of domestic sales laws that have used it as a model. Notably, many Scandinavian countries have used the CISG as the background for the modification of their domestic sales laws, as did Germany in its 2002 Schuldrechtsreform (Revision of the Law of Obligations) and The Netherlands in drafting the Law of Obligations in the Wetboek (Civil Code). Furthermore, many of the former Socialist states in Eastern Europe, including Estonia, the Czech Republic and Croatia, are also basing the re-development of their private and domestic sales and com-mercial laws on CISG concepts. Completing the CISG’s global impact is the reform of the Chinese private law. The New Code of Obligations of China has adopted many legal concepts and institutions promulgated in the CISG and the drafters have confirmed using the CISG as a source of inspiration in this regard. In addition, not only domestic sales laws, but also, increasingly, regional and inter-national principles are availing themselves of CISG principles to guide their drafting. The general approach of the Principles for International Commercial Contracts drafted by UNIDROIT (the UNIDROIT Principles) and the Principles of European Contract Law, which are intended to pave the way for a European or an international law of contract, can be traced back to the CISG. The same is true of the European Directive on Consumer Sales, which mirrors the concepts of conformity and non-conformity set out in the CISG. Furthermore, the OHADA, a union of 16 African states, has adopted a common sales law, which follows the CISG almost to the letter. Efforts at unification of the law are often met with the criticism that the unique peculiarities and historical variety of local laws are thereby ‘bulldozed’ by an all-consuming ‘international’ law. This is not the intention of the CISG. It certainly aims to provide a certain, uniform and consistent basis for defining the scope and obligations of international sales contracts for those states that have declared their intention to be bound by it. Moreover, the CISG serves as a stimulus for the development, revision and interpretation of domestic laws, under consideration and in awareness of genuine international concepts, which can only be of benefit to the states concerned.

All in all, the CISG has met with resounding acceptance around the globe. Today, the CISG counts 67 Contracting States among its members, covering more than 70 per cent of global trade and production of goods; of the 50 leading exporters and importers in world merchandise, over 60 per cent are Contracting States to the CISG. Of those large industrial nations that are not yet Contracting States to the CISG, notably the UK, Japan and Korea, both internal and external pressure to ratify is rising. Currently, approximately 1,300 court and arbitral decisions decided under the CISG have been handed down from 32 judicial instances, and more than 6,500 academic publica-tions exist in 24 languages. This is in addition to the numerous conferences and other forms of academic discourse dealing with the Convention, most notably the CISG Advisory Council, a global body of CISG and international sales law experts that meets on a regular basis to discuss the significant developments in the field of international sales law and aims at promoting the uniform interpretation of the CISG. Perhaps the most tangible success of the CISG can be seen in the number of domestic sales laws that have used it as a model. Notably, many Scandinavian countries have used the CISG as the background for the modification of their domestic sales laws, as did Germany in its 2002 Schuldrechtsreform (Revision of the Law of Obligations) and The Netherlands in drafting the Law of Obligations in the Wetboek (Civil Code). Furthermore, many of the former Socialist states in Eastern Europe, including Estonia, the Czech Republic and Croatia, are also basing the re-development of their private and domestic sales and com-mercial laws on CISG concepts. Completing the CISG’s global impact is the reform of the Chinese private law. The New Code of Obligations of China has adopted many legal concepts and institutions promulgated in the CISG and the drafters have confirmed using the CISG as a source of inspiration in this regard. In addition, not only domestic sales laws, but also, increasingly, regional and inter-national principles are availing themselves of CISG principles to guide their drafting. The general approach of the Principles for International Commercial Contracts drafted by UNIDROIT (the UNIDROIT Principles) and the Principles of European Contract Law, which are intended to pave the way for a European or an international law of contract, can be traced back to the CISG. The same is true of the European Directive on Consumer Sales, which mirrors the concepts of conformity and non-conformity set out in the CISG. Furthermore, the OHADA, a union of 16 African states, has adopted a common sales law, which follows the CISG almost to the letter. Efforts at unification of the law are often met with the criticism that the unique peculiarities and historical variety of local laws are thereby ‘bulldozed’ by an all-consuming ‘international’ law. This is not the intention of the CISG. It certainly aims to provide a certain, uniform and consistent basis for defining the scope and obligations of international sales contracts for those states that have declared their intention to be bound by it. Moreover, the CISG serves as a stimulus for the development, revision and interpretation of domestic laws, under consideration and in awareness of genuine international concepts, which can only be of benefit to the states concerned.