UNCITRAL Digest of Article 53 case law

DIGEST OF ARTICLE 53 CASE LAW

Principal obligations of the buyer

1. This article states the principal obligations of the buyer and serves as an introduction to the provisions set out in Chapter III. Further, as the Convention does not define the sale of goods as such, this provision, in connection with article 30, is also useful for this purpose.[1] The principal obligations of the buyer are to pay the price for and take delivery of the goods "as required by the contract and this Convention". From that and from article 6 of the Convention it follows that where the contract provides for the performance to take place in a certain manner that differs from that set forth in the Convention, the parties' agreement prevails.

Other obligations of the buyer

2. According to the Convention, the contract may impose on the buyer obligations other than payment of the price and taking of delivery,[2] such as the establishment of security guaranteeing payment of the price, the supply of materials needed for manufacture or production of the goods (art. 3(1)) or the submission of specifications regarding the form, measurement or other features of the goods (art. 65).

Illustrations from case law

3. Since it merely states the obligations of the buyer which are treated more fully in subsequent articles, article 53 raises no particular difficulties for the courts. There have been numerous court decisions referring to article 53 in connection with judgments requiring the buyer to pay the price.[3] Illustrations from case law involving the application of article 53 to other obligations of the buyer are less common.[4]

FOOTNOTES

* The present text was prepared using the full text of the decisions cited in the Case Law on UNCITRAL Texts (CLOUT) abstracts and other citations listed in the footnotes. The abstracts are intended to serve only as summaries of the underlying decisions and may not reflect all the points made in the digest. Readers are advised to consult the full texts of the listed court and arbitral decisions rather than relying solely on the CLOUT abstracts.

[Citations to cisgw3 case presentations have been substituted [in brackets] for the case citations provided in the UNCITRAL Digest. This substitution has been made to facilitate online access to CLOUT abstracts, original texts of court and arbitral decisions, and full text English translations of these texts (available in most but not all cases). For citations UNCITRAL had used, go to <http://www.uncitral.org/english/clout/digest_cisg_e.htm>.]

1. [ITALY Tribunale [District Court] Rimini 26 November 2002; available at <http://www.cisg.law.pace.edu/cisg/wais/db/cases2/021126i3.html>]; [SWITZERLAND Kantonsgericht [District Court] Schaffhausen 25 February 2002, available online at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/020225s1.html>]; [FRANCE Cour d'appel [Appellate Court] Colmar 12 June 2001, available online at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/010612f1.html>]; [SWITZERLAND Tribunal [Appellate Court] Vaud 11 March 1996, available online at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/960311s1.html>].

2. See articles 61(1) and 62.

3. [GERMANY Landgericht [District Court] Mönchengladbach 15 July 2003, available online at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/030715g1.html>]; [GERMANY Landgericht [District Court] Tübingen 18 June 2003, available online at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/030618g1.html>]; [GERMANY Landgericht [District Court] Tübingen Berlin 21 March 2003, available online at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/030321g1.html>]; [BELGIUM Rechtbank [District Court] Veurne 19 March 2003, available online at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/030319b1.html>]; [BELGIUM Beroep [Appellate Court] Gent 2 December 2002, available online at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/021202b1.html>]; [ITALY Tribunale [District Court] Rimini 26 November 2002, available online at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/021126i3.html>]; [GERMANY Landgericht [District Court] Saarbrücken 25 November 2002, available online at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/021125g1.html>]; [SWITZERLAND Handelsgericht [Commercial Court] Aargau 5 November 2002, available online at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/021105s1.html>]; [GERMANY Oberlandesgericht [District Court] Köln 14 October 2002, available online at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/021014g1.html>]; [GERMANY Oberlandesgericht [Appellate Court] Rostock 25 September 2002, available online at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/020925g1.html>]; [GERMANY Landgericht [District Court] Göttingen 20 September 2002, available online at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/020920g1.html>]; [GERMANY Oberlandesgericht [Appellate Court] Schleswig 22 August 2002, available online at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/020822g2.html>]; [ARGENTINA Cámara Nacional de los Apelaciones en lo Comercial [Appellate Court] 21 July 2002, available online at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/020721a1.html>]; [GERMANY Landgericht [District Court] Saarbrücken 2 July 2002, available online at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/020702g1.html>]; [GERMANY Amtsgericht [Lower Court] Viechtach 11 April 2002, available online at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/020411g1.html>]; [GERMANY Landgericht [District Court] München 27 February 2002, available online at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/020227g1.html>]; [SWITZERLAND Kantonsgericht [District Court] Schaffhausen 25 February 2002, available online at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/020225s1.html>]; [GERMANY Landgericht [District Court] München 20 February 2002, available online at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/020220g1.html>]; [GERMANY Landgericht [District Court] Stendal 12 October 2000, available online at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/001012g1.html>]; CLOUT case No. 327 [SWITZERLAND Kantonsgericht [District Court] Zug 25 February 1999; available at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/990225s1.html>]; CLOUT case No. 340 [GERMANY Oberlandesgericht [Appellate Court] Oldenburg 22 September 1998, available online at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/980922g1.html>] (see full text of the decision); CLOUT case No. 318 [GERMANY Oberlandesgericht [Appellate Court] Celle 2 September 1998 ; available at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/980902g1.html>]; CLOUT case No. 288 [GERMANY Oberlandesgericht [Appellate Court] München 28 January 1998; available at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/980128g1.html>]; CLOUT case No. 236 [GERMANY Bundesgerichtshof [Supreme Court] 23 July 1997, available online at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/970723g1.html>]; CLOUT case No. 273 [GERMANY Oberlandesgericht [Appellate Court] München 9 July 1997; available at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/970709g1.html>]; CLOUT case No. 275 [GERMANY Oberlandesgericht [Appellate Court] Düsseldorf 24 April 1997, available online at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/970424g1.html>]; [ICC Court of Arbitration, case No. 8716 of February 1997, available online at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/978716i1.html>]; CLOUT case No. 163 [HUNGARY Budapest Arbitration Award case No. VB 96074 of 10 December 1996, available online at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/961210h1.html>] (see full text of the decision); CLOUT case No. 169 [GERMANY Oberlandesgericht [Appellate Court] Düsseldorf 11 July 1996, available online at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/960711g1.html>]; [GERMANY Landgericht [District Court] Duisburg 17 April 1996, available online at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/960417g1.html>]; CLOUT case No. 409 [GERMANY Landgericht [District Court] Kassel 15 February 1996, available online at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/960215g1.html>]; [RUSSIA Arbitration Award case No. 40/1995 of 22 January 1996; available online at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/960122r1.html>]; [GERMANY Amtsgericht [Lower Court] Wangen 8 March 1995, available online at <http://www.cisg.law.pace.edu/cisg/wais/db/cases2/950308g2.html>]; CLOUT case No. 281 [GERMANY Oberlandesgericht [Appellate Court] Koblenz 17 September 1993; available at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/930917g1.html>] (see full text of the decision); CLOUT case No. 104 [ICC International Court of Arbitration, case No. 7197 of 1993; available at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/937197i1.html>] (see full text of the decision); CLOUT case No. 26 [ICC International Court of Arbitration, case No. 7153 of 1992; available at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/927153i1.html>] (see full text of the decision); CLOUT case No. 46 [GERMANY Landgericht [District Court] Aachen 3 April 1990; available at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/900403g1.html>] (see full text of the decision).

4. CLOUT case No. 133 [GERMANY Oberlandesgericht [Appellate Court] München 8 February 1995; available at <http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/cases/950208g1.html>].