Impact of Art. 3 on the interpretation of non-CISG provisions

Beyond its actual sphere of application, Art. 3 CISG has occasionally been used as guidance by courts when interpreting provisions of domestic or international law. Some examples are listed below.

European Union law:

Again S.r.l. in liquidazione v. Mac Mode GmbH & Co. KGaA
Corte Suprema di Cassazione (Italian Supreme Court)
Italy, 09 January 2020 – 156/2020, CISG-online 5814

Reference made to Art. 3(1) and (2) CISG in interpreting the terms “sale of goods” and “provision of services” as used in Art. 5(1)(b) of the Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters

ACT Energy B.V. v. Gestión Integral de Almacenes S.L.
Rechtbank Amsterdam (District Court Amsterdam)
Netherlands, 12 June 2019 – C/13/662199 / HA ZA 19-212, CISG-online 4481

Reference made to Art. 3 CISG in interpreting the term “sale of goods” as used in Art. 7(1)(b) of the Regulation (EU) No. 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters

Heike Schottelius v. Falk Seifert
European Court of Justice
European Union, 07 September 2017 – C-247/16, CISG-online 2913

Reference made to Art. 3(1) CISG in interpreting the term "contracts of sale" used in Art. 1(4) of Directive 1999/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 May 1999 on certain aspects of the sale of consumer goods and associated guarantees

Georgian law:

Tbilisi real estate case
საქართველოს უზენაესი სასამართლო (Supreme Court of Georgia)
Georgia, 07 March 2013 – ??-1162-1091-2012, CISG-online 4488

Reference made to Art. 3(1) CISG in interpreting Georgian domestic private law