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CISG-online number
5488
Case name
Ground mace case
Jurisdiction
Germany
Court
Bundesgerichtshof (German Supreme Court)
Chamber
I. Zivilsenat (1st panel for civil matters)
Judges
Prof. Dr. Thomas Koch (Presiding Judge), Babette Pohl (Judge), Bernd Odörfer (Judge), Dr. Christiane Schmaltz (Judge), Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schaffert (Judge)
Date of decision
26 November 2020
Case nr./docket nr.
I ZR 245/19
Claimant 1
Place of business
Germany
Role in transaction
Buyer's insurer and subrogee
Respondents 2
Name
P. Visser & Zoon
Place of business
Netherlands
Role in transaction
Seller
Place of business
Belgium
Role in transaction
Producer of the goods sold (not party to the international sales contract)
Case History
Ground mace case
Landgericht Bremen (District Court Bremen)
Germany, 21 March 2017 – 11 O 127/15, CISG-online 5379
Ground mace case
Oberlandesgericht Bremen (Court of Appeal Bremen)
Germany, 08 February 2019 – 2 U 37/17, CISG-online 5468
Present decision
Seller 1
Name
P. Visser & Zoon
Place of business
Netherlands
Role in trade
Dealer / Trader
Buyer 1
Name
Gusto Basisprodukte für Nahrungsmittelproduktion und Vertrieb GmbH & Co. KG
Place of business
Germany
Role in trade
Dealer / Trader
Category of goods
7: Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices, and manufactures thereof
Goods as per contract
1,500 kilograms of ground mace (a spice)
CISG applicable
yes, Art. 1(1)(a)
CISG applied
yes
(Domestic) law applied in addition
Dutch law
Key CISG provisions interpreted and applied
Art. 14-24 (applicability to the formation of arbitration agreements)
Key CISG provisions interpreted
Art. 4; Art. 11; Art. 19(3); Art. 81(1)
CISG provisions also cited
Art. 8(2); Art. 8(3); Art. 18
Non-provision-specific issues addressed
Formation of party agreement on dispute resolution clause; Interpretation of dispute resolution clause
This decision cites the following other CISG-online cases 8
Bundesgerichtshof (German Supreme Court)
Germany, 18 October 2017 – VIII ZR 86/16, CISG-online 5408
Italian knitwear case III
Oberster Gerichtshof (Austrian Supreme Court)
Austria, 29 June 2017 – 8 Ob 104/16a, CISG-online 2845
Sour cherries case II
Bundesgerichtshof (German Supreme Court)
Germany, 11 May 2017 – I ZB 75/16, CISG-online 2872
Brewing tanks case
Oberlandesgericht Stuttgart (Court of Appeal Stuttgart)
Germany, 21 December 2015 – 1 SchH 1/15, CISG-online 2747
Replacement parts for ships case
Bundesgerichtshof (German Supreme Court)
Germany, 25 March 2015 – VIII ZR 125/14, CISG-online 2588
Dried onions case
Oberlandesgericht Hamburg (Court of Appeal Hamburg)
Germany, 19 December 2012 – 6 Sch 18/12, CISG-online 2410
Machinery case
Bundesgerichtshof (German Supreme Court)
Germany, 31 October 2001 – VIII ZR 60/01, CISG-online 617
Filanto S.p.A. v. Chilewich Int'l Corp.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
USA, 14 April 1992 – 91 CIV 3253 (CLB), CISG-online 45
This decision is cited by 2
German composite concrete slabs plants case
Bayerisches Oberstes Landesgericht (Bavarian Supreme Court)
Germany, 26 June 2024 – 101 Sch 116/23 e, CISG-online 7048
Chinese LED displays case
Oberlandesgericht Karlsruhe (Court of Appeal Karlsruhe)
Germany, 08 October 2021 – 10 Sch 4/18, CISG-online 6361
Decision published in 12
Recht der Transportwirtschaft (RdTW) (2021), 61–67 [Full text – in German]
Monatsschrift für Deutsches Recht (MDR) (2021), 306–308 [Full text – in German]
Zeitschrift für Schiedsverfahren/German Arbitration Journal (SchiedsVZ) (2021), 97–103 [Full text – in German]
Neue Juristische Wochenschrift – Rechtsprechungs-Report (NJW-RR) (2021), 376–381 [Full text – in German]
Zeitschrift für Vertriebsrecht (ZVertriebsR) (2021), 119–125 [Full text – in German]
Internationales Handelsrecht (IHR) (2021), 149–155 [Full text – in German]
Recht der Internationalen Wirtschaft (RIW) (2021), 233–238 [Full text – in German]
Zeitschrift für Internationales Wirtschaftsrecht (IWRZ) (2021), 87–93 [Full text – in German]
Außenwirtschaftliche Praxis (AW-Prax) (2021), 290 [Abstract – in German]
Praxis des Internationalen Privat- und Verfahrensrechts (IPRax) (2021), 544–550 [Full text – in German]
25 Vindobona Journal of International Commercial Law and Arbitration (VJ) (2021), 113–128 [Full text (translation) – in English]
Wertpapiermitteilungen Teil IV – Zeitschrift für Wirtschafts- und Bankrecht (WM) (2022), 786–792 [Full text – in German]
European Case Law Identifier (ECLI)
ECLI:DE:BGH:2020:261120UIZR245.19.0
CLOUT number
2051
Comments on this decision 10
Nadja Harraschain & Anna Masser, 'Does the CISG Apply to Arbitration Agreements?', (1) ICC Dispute Resolution Bulletin (2021), 36–38 [– in English]
Stefan Kröll, 'Schiedsklauseln in internationalen Kaufverträgen: Fragen des anwendbaren Rechts', Internationales Handelsrecht (IHR) (2021), 177–186 [– in German]
Anna Masser & Nadja Harraschain, 'Anmerkung: CISG und Schiedsvereinbarung, verträgt sich das?', Zeitschrift für Schiedsverfahren/German Arbitration Journal (SchiedsVZ) (2021), 103–104 [– in German]
Eun-Ok Park, 'CISG as a Governing Law to an Arbitration Agreement', 25(7) Journal of Korea Trade (JKT) (2021), 108–121, at 114–115 [– in English]  
Ingeborg Schwenzer & Ilka H. Beimel, 'Das auf die Schiedsvereinbarung anwendbare Recht – Zugleich: Anmerkung zu BGH, Urteil vom 26.11.2020 – I ZR 245/19', Zeitschrift für Internationales Wirtschaftsrecht (IWRZ) (2021), 51–56 [– in German]
Raoul Sievers, 'Case Commentary: German Federal Court of Justice, Judgment of 26 November 2020 – I ZR 245/19 (Ground Mace Case)', 25(2) Vindobona Journal of International Commercial Law and Arbitration (VJ) (2021), 129 [– in English]
Naomi Tarawali & Patrick Gerardy, 'The Law Governing the Arbitration Agreement – A Fresh Look at an Old Debate after the UK Supreme Court’s Enka Judgment and Recent Clarification by the German Federal Court of Justice', 19 Zeitschrift für Schiedsverfahren/German Arbitration Journal (SchiedsVZ) (2021), 208–215 [– in English]
Klaus Vorpeil, 'Anmerkung zu BGH, Urteil vom 26.11.2020 – I ZR 245/19', Außenwirtschaftliche Praxis (AW-Prax) (2021), 290–291 [– in German]
Claude Witz, Ben Köhler & Francis Limbach, 'Panorama: Droit uniforme de la vente internationale de marchandises (janvier 2020 - juin 2021)', Recueil Dalloz (D.) (2021), 2017–2027, at 2021–2022 [– in French]
Fabian von Schlabrendorff, 'Wirksames Zustandekommen der Schiedsvereinbarung bei dem CISG unterliegenden Verträgen: Anmerkung zu BGH, Urteil vom 26.11.2020 – I ZR 245/19', LMK – Kommentierte BGH-Rechtsprechung (LMK) (2021), 804851 [– in German]
Full text and abstract of decision 2
Abstract of decision
CLOUT Abstract 2051 (Language: English)
Creator of abstract
Ulrich G. Schroeter
Full text of decision
Original language: German