ABSTRACT
The contract of sale will usually specify how the buyer should make payment, and consequently also the location of where this has to be done. In most international sales contracts, this will usually be arranged via an electronic funds transfer or by means of a documentary credit. This chapter examines the quintessential commercial contract: the contract of sale. In the Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG), the chosen criterion is to determine internationality on the basis of where the parties to the contract of sale have their respective places of business. In one sense, it is the classic embodiment of party autonomy in that it allows the parties to an international sales contract to determine which default rules will apply to their contract. One important hallmark of the CISG is the absence of any formal requirements with regard to the way a contract is formed or recorded.
