Contracting States
The 1980 Vienna Sales Convention (CISG) has currently been adopted by 97 Contracting States.
The status of a given State as "Contracting State" of the CISG is an important factor in determining the Convention's applicability to a particular sales transaction. Its relevance results from Art. 1(1) CISG and its references to Contracting States:
This Convention applies to contracts of sale of goods between parties whose places of business are in different States:
(a) when the States are Contracting States; or
(b) when the rules of private international law lead to the application of the law of a Contracting State.
The applicability of the Convention can be affected by reservations authorized in Arts. 92–96 CISG that have been declared by some of the Contracting States, as well as by declarations not specifically authorized in the Convention. Reservations and declarations are noted in the lists of CISG Contracting States and are explained in more detail in the section "CISG by jurisdiction".
The status of some territories (inter alia Hong Kong, Kosovo, Macao, Palestine, Taiwan) under the Convention is uncertain and disputed. More detailed information is provided in the section "CISG by jurisdiction".
Two States – Ghana and Venezuela – signed the Convention in 1980/1981 in accordance with Art. 91(1) CISG, but without subsequently ratifying it. For the purposes of the CISG, they are not (yet) Contracting States.
