Legislative history

Case law

Scholarly writings on this article

• Article 55 vs. Article 14(1). Mr. Loewe (Austria) [Chair of First Committee] "said that after discussions lasting 10 years, the UNCITRAL plenary had eventually adopted article 51 [antecedent to CISG article 55] which set out the criteria for determining the price subsequent to the conclusion of a valid contract, before it had adopted Part II of the draft Convention, dealing with formation of the contract. Thus, a contradiction was apparent between the statement in article 12, paragraph 1 [antecedent to CISG article 14(1)], that a fixed price was an essential factor in a definite proposal and the provision in paragraph 51 [antecedent to CISG article 55] of rules for fixing a price. . . ." OR 292, para. 49 [OR = Official Records of the United Nations Conference on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, Vienna 10 March - 11 April 1980, A/CONF. 97/19]

• "Where a contract has been validly concluded". "UNCITRAL in 1977 changed the opening clause . . . to read 'If a contract has been validly concluded . . .' The formal statement of the decision by the Commission . . . stated . . . 'The Committee decided to introduce an express statement into the article to make it clear that it only applied to agreements which were considered valid by the applicable law'. The discussion that led to this decision made clear that 'applicable law' meant . . . 'the applicable national law'. Indeed, 'applicable by virtue of the rules of private international law' (Art. 7(2)), in contrast to the uniform international rules set forth in the Convention." John O. Honnold, Uniform Law for International Sales Under the 1980 United Nations Convention, 2d ed. (Kluwer 1991) 201.