CISG CASE PRESENTATION

Case identification

DATE OF DECISION: 19931111 (11 November 1993)

JURISDICTION: Germany

TRIBUNAL: Landgericht Köln [LG = Landgericht = District Court]

JUDGE(S): Unavailable

CASE NUMBER/DOCKET NUMBER: 86 O 119/93

CASE NAME: German case citations do not identify parties to proceedings

Prepared by Camilla Andersen for commentary on notice issues under Article 39(1)

Rejecting a notice "time frame of twenty-one days after delivery, the Court stressed that this was because the buyer knew that the seller had a deadline to comply with which would necessitate a speedier examination and notification. The case involved the sale of business-catalogue space, and the Court stated that since the mistake in the twenty-two pages was discoverable within a few hours of delivery on 4 August 1992 and the buyer knew the seller had a deadline on 4 September 1992, an examination and notification should have been carried out sooner according to Article 38. Since no notice was given within reasonable time after the mistake should have been found, the buyer could not rely on the non-conformity. The Court clearly stated that the Article 38 examination period could be set at a few days, but does not mention within which period the subsequent notice should have been delivered. Nevertheless, the emphasis placed by the Court on the deadline in question would seem to suggest that a combined Article 38/Article 39 period of twenty-one days after delivery definitely was not considered untimely per se, but that the findings were based on the actual foreseeable detriment to the seller by the notice in question." Andersen, Pace Review of the Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (1998) 115. The case was reversed on appeal, but on different grounds: the OLG Köln 26 August 1994 held that the CISG did not apply as this was neither a contract for the sale of goods (Article 1(1)), nor a contract for the production of goods (Article 3(1)).

Editorial remarks

• Unavailable

Citations to case abstracts, texts, and commentaries

(a) UNCITRAL abstract: Unavailable

(b) Other abstracts

Unavailable

CITATIONS TO TEXT OF DECISION