Uzbek Court applies Arts. 53 and 59 CISG

On 12 February 2021, the Judicial Chamber for Economic Cases of Tashkent City Court (Toshkent shahar sudining Iqtisodiy ishlar bo’yicha sudlov hay’ati) rendered a decision in a case regarding the sale of medicines and medical devices. The decision’s full text, originally written in Uzbek, has been translated into English by Kamila Ismailova, who is enrolled at the Westminster International University in Tashkent and a Legal intern with Azizov and Partners Firm of Advocates (Uzbekistan), and edited by Abdulaziz Jurajonov, Associate with Azizov and Partners Firm of Advocates and a graduate of the University of World Economy and Diplomacy (Uzbekistan). We are very grateful for their translation that can now be accessed via the case presentation about CISG-online no. 5540 (see below).

The dispute underlying the decision arose from a sales contract concerning medicines and medical devices, concluded between a Russian seller and an Uzbek buyer. The contract obliged the seller to deliver the goods in installments and the buyer to make payments within 60 calendar days after the seller fulfilled its obligation to deliver the goods. After this time-frame had expired and the seller had repeatedly granted additional time to the buyer, the buyer had still only made a partial payment. Consequently, the seller initiated legal proceedings, seeking payment of the outstanding debt.

The Tashkent City Court held that the parties chose the CISG as the law applicable to the contract. In its decision, the court further determined that in accordance with Art. 53 CISG, the buyer was obliged to pay the price for the delivered goods. Under the application of Art. 59 CISG, the court found that the buyer had failed to comply with its obligation to pay the purchase price within the contractually fixed period. Therefore, the court granted the seller’s claim and ordered the buyer to pay the outstanding debt, as well as contractual penalties and litigation costs.