Professor Michael Bridge, NAB 6.21

LLM and other Masters students where regulations permit with permission of the course teacher.

This course is capped at 30 students. Students must apply through Graduate Course Choice on LSEforYou.

Students should have some background knowledge of legal study.

The course is divided into two parts and is the sum of two half courses (International Uniform Sales Law and International Commodity Sales). The first part of the course concerns sales conducted on the basis of the United Nations Convention on the International Sale of Goods 1980 (CISG). Over seventy countries have so far adopted the CISG, which has generated an enormous primary and secondary literature. It has also very largely informed the Chinese Contract Law of 1999. The second part is concerned with the international sale of goods where English law is the applicable law. English law plays a dominant part in the international sale of commodities, especially in the case of dry commodities (wheat, soya etc) produced in North America and transported to a northern European destination. It is usually the case that such contracts have no physical connection with England. There is a rich case law dealing with sales on FOB, CIF and similar terms and there are interesting comparisons to be drawn between forward physical sales and futures sales. Interesting questions are also posed by the intersection of various allied contracts concluded to give effect to the international venture, notably, sale, letters of credit, insurance and carriage (or charter parties). The theme of uniformity bulks large in the course, whether it takes the form of a uniform law, like the CISG; or the use of non-mandatory instruments, like the Unidroit Principles of International and Commercial Contracts to bulk out the 1980 Convention; or a set of uniform rules incorporated voluntarily in contracts, as is the case with the UCP600 Customs and Practice on Documentary Credits 2007; or even the uniform selection of the same law (English law) in string transactions; or the selection of a well-established standard form, like the GAFTA 100 contract on CIF terms.

Twenty hours of seminars in both the Michaelmas and Lent Terms. Four hours of revision seminars in the Summer Term.

Where the student does not opt to write a dissertation in the subject, there will be at least 2 x 2000 word written assignments.

Michael Bridge, The International Sale of Goods (Oxford, 2nd ed 2007); J Fawcett, J Harris and M Bridge, International Sale of Goods in the Conflict of Laws (Oxford 2005); A Slabotsky, Grain Contracts and Arbitration (Lloyd's London, 1984); M Bridge (ed), Benjamin's Sale of Goods (Sweet & Maxwell, 8^th ed 2010); D Morgan, Merchants of Grain (Penguin, 1980); R Goode, Commercial Law (Penguin, 3rd ed 2004); C Bianca and M Bonell, Commentary on the International Sales Law (Giuffre, 1987); P Schlechtriem and I Schwenzer, Commentary on the UN Convention on the International Sale of Goods (CISG) (Oxford, 3rd ed 2010); J Honnold, Documentary History of the Uniform Law for International Sales (Kluwer, 1989); J Honnold, Uniform Law for International Sales (Kluwer, 4th ed 2009); P Huber and A Mullis, The CISG (Sellier 2007).

One three-hour examination in ST (100%).