CISG Advisory Council Opinions in case law

The CISG Advisory Council (CISG-AC) is a group of experts on the CISG that issues and publishes opinions and declarations on the interpretation, application, and the role of the Convention in general. Founded in 2001 in Paris, the CISG-AC is a private initiative without official function. Nevertheless, courts often follow the interpretation suggested by the CISG-AC when applying CISG provisions.

The list of CISG-AC opinions below provides links to the full text of all opinions (accessible via the pdf icons on the left), together with lists of court decisions and arbitral awards that have referred to the respective opinions.

CISG-AC Opinion No. 1 ‘Electronic Communications under CISG’ (Rapporteur: Christina Ramberg), adopted by the CISG Advisory Council on 15 August 2003

CISG-AC Opinion No. 2 ‘Examination of the Goods and Notice of Non-Conformity – Articles 38 and 39’ (Rapporteur: Eric E. Bergsten), adopted by the CISG Advisory Council on 7 June 2004

CISG-AC Opinion No. 3 ‘Parol Evidence Rule, Plain Meaning Rule, Contractual Merger Clause and the CISG’ (Rapporteur: Richard Hyland), adopted by the CISG Advisory Council at its 7th meeting in Madrid (Spain) on 23 October 2004

CISG-AC Opinion No. 4 ‘Contracts for the Sale of Goods to be Manufactured or Produced and Mixed Contracts (Article 3 CISG)’ (Rapporteur: Pilar Perales Viscasillas), adopted by the CISG Advisory Council at its 7th meeting in Madrid (Spain) on 24 October 2004

CISG-AC Opinion No. 5 ‘The Buyer's Right to Avoid the Contract in Case of Non-conforming Goods or Documents’ (Rapporteur: Ingeborg Schwenzer), adopted by the CISG Advisory Council at its 9th meeting in Philadelphia (USA) in 2005

CISG-AC Opinion No. 6 ‘Calculation of Damages under CISG Article 74’ (Rapporteur: John Y. Gotanda), adopted by the CISG Advisory Council at its 10th meeting in Stockholm (Sweden) in Spring 2006

CISG-AC Opinion No. 7 ‘Exemption of Liability for Damages Under Article 79 of the CISG’ (Rapporteur: Alejandro M. Garro), adopted by the CISG Advisory Council at its 11th meeting in Wuhan (China) on 12 October 2007

CISG-AC Opinion No. 8 ‘Calculation of Damages under Articles 75 and 76 CISG’ (Rapporteur: John Y. Gotanda), adopted by the CISG Advisory Council following its 12th meeting in Tokyo (Japan) on 15 November 2008

CISG-AC Opinion No. 9 ‘Consequences of Avoidance of the Contract’ (Rapporteur: Michael Bridge), adopted by the CISG Advisory Council following its 12th meeting in Tokyo (Japan) on 15 November 2008

CISG-AC Opinion No. 10 ‘Agreed Sums Payable upon Breach of an Obligation in CISG Contracts’ (Rapporteur: Pascal Hachem), adopted by the CISG Advisory Council following its 16th meeting in Wellington (New Zealand) on 3 August 2012

CISG-AC Opinion No. 11 ‘Issues Raised by Documents under the CISG Focusing on the Buyer’s Payment Duty’ (Rapporteur: Martin Davies), adopted by the CISG Advisory Council following its 16th meeting in Wellington (New Zealand) on 3 August 2012

CISG-AC Opinion No. 12 ‘Liability of the Seller for Damages Arising out of Personal Injuries and Property Damage Caused by Goods and Services under the CISG’ (Rapporteur: Hiroo Sono), adopted by the CISG Advisory Council following its 17th meeting in Philadelphia (USA) on 20 January 2013

CISG-AC Opinion No. 13 ‘Inclusion of Standard Terms under the CISG’ (Rapporteur: Sieg Eiselen), adopted by the CISG Advisory Council following its 17th meeting in Philadelphia (USA) on 20 January 2013

CISG-AC Opinion No. 14 ‘Interest under Article 78 CISG’ (Rapporteur: Yesim Atamer), adopted by the CISG Advisory Council following its 18th meeting in Beijing (China) on 21 and 22 October 2013

CISG-AC Opinion No. 15 ‘Reservations under Articles 95 and 96 CISG’ (Rapporteur: Ulrich G. Schroeter), adopted by the CISG Advisory Council following its 18th meeting in Beijing (China) on 21 and 22 October 2013

CISG-AC Opinion No. 16 ‘Exclusion of the CISG under Article 6’ (Rapporteur: Lisa Spagnolo), adopted by the CISG Advisory Council following its 19th meeting in Pretoria (South Africa) on 30 May 2014

CISG-AC Opinion No. 17 ‘Limitation and Exclusion Clauses in CISG Contracts’ (Rapporteur: Lauro Gama, Jr.), adopted by the CISG Advisory Council following its 21st meeting in Bogotá (Colombia) on 16 October 2015

CISG-AC Opinion No. 18 ‘Set-off under the CISG’ (Rapporteur: Christiana Fountoulakis), adopted by the CISG Advisory Council following its 24th meeting in Antigua (Guatemala) on 2 and 3 February 2018

CISG-AC Opinion No. 19 'Standards and Conformity of the Goods under Article 35 CISG‘ (Rapporteur: Djakhongir Saidov), adopted by the CISG Advisory Council following its 25th meeting in Aalborg (Denmark) on 25 November 2018

CISG-AC Opinion No. 20 'Hardship under the CISG‘ (Rapporteur: Edgardo Munoz), adopted by the CISG Advisory Council following its 27th meeting in Guadalajara (Mexico) on 2-5 February 2020

CISG-AC Opinion No. 21 ‘Delivery of Substitute Goods and Repair under the CISG’ (Rapporteurs: Ingeborg Schwenzer and Ilka H. Beimel), adopted by the CISG Advisory Council following its 27th meeting in Puerto Vallarta (Mexico) on 3 and 4 February 2020

CISG-AC Opinion No. 22 ‘The seller’s liability for goods infringing intellectual property rights under Article 42 CISG’ (Rapporteur: David Tebel), adopted by the CISG Advisory Council following its 30th meeting in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) on 7-9 August 2022