Essay: Dissertation proposal: the Convention vs the Sale of Goods Act

The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG; the Vienna Convention) which was signed in Vienna in 1980 is an international treaty for dealing with international sales. However, the Convention had not been ratified by the UK.
My dissertation will put some concrete evidence to compare the Convention and Sale of Goods act and critically examine the reasons of non-ratification. Also, my dissertation will draw conclusions regarding should the UK need to ratify the convention.
There is a variety of opinions which are positive and negative regarding with my dissertation. Barry Nicholas who is an Oxford Professor and member of the UNCITRAL Group gave his sight with . . .
“There are indeed grounds for an English lawyer to feel disquiet about the convention and the way in which it is developing. But this no longer a ground, if it ever was one, for refusing to ratify the convention. On the contrary, it is a ground for ratifying quickly, so that the experience of English lawyers and the English Commercial Court may influence the way in which the convention is applied’’
Barry Nicholas, “The United Kingdom and the Vienna Sales Convention: Another Case of Splendid Isolation?”, Saggi, conferenze e seminari n° 9, Centro di studi e ricerche di diritto comparato e straniero, Rome 1993 = http://www.cisg.law.pace.edu/cisg/biblio/nicholas3.html
The convention almost was signed by every country, but the UK was not and this situation might be a problem for merchants in international trade sales. This argument can be found in report of The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). DTI states that:
“Since 1989, the number of countries ratifying the Convention has more than double to 48 …
This evidence suggest the UK is becoming increasingly isolated within the international trading community in not having ratified the Convention. We judge the time is right therefore to consider again whether our international traders are at a disadvantage because the UK is not a party to convention and therefore does not have access to a law which was drafted specially for international sales in the modern world. Ratification would also enable our courts to contribute towards the interpretation and development of the convention, which is taking place at the moment without our participation”
Official Publication of Department of Trade and Industry, United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sales of Goods, A Consultative Document (London, 1997)
Related to this also, Silvia E. Nikolova’s opinion in the same way with DTI. She addresses that:
“. . . this article recommends that the UK Government should place weight on the legislative priority of the ratification of the Vienna Convention on the International Sale of Goods in the UK Parliament, as ratification will promote the internationalization of SMEs in the UK, will increase the profitability levels of these enterprises, and thus will positively affect the development of the UK economy.’’
Silvia E. Nikolova UK’s Ratication of the CISG – An Old Debate or a New Hope for the Economy of the UK on Its Way Out of the Recession: e Potential Impact of the CISG on the UK’s SME, Pace Int’l L. Rev. Online Companion [Vol. 3 number 3 p 109 2012
Additionally, it is important to compare Convention relating to a Uniform Law on the International Sale of Goods (ULIS) and CISG, because, ULIS was ratified by the UK. Although CISG is a new form of ULIS. In this point scholar’s opinion is important for why the UK needs to ratify CISG, German scholar observes:
“The tendency to avoid inflexible and irrevocable legal remedies . . . influenced the formulation of the remedy provisions in the 1980 Convention. The need for greater judicial discretion in particular cases also became clear, such as in the requirement that a measure or waiting period should be ‘reasonable’. The new provisions on time limitations for giving notice in a timely manner show especially clearly the strongly felt need for flexible rules to accommodate the buyer’s difficulties’’
page 22 Peter Schlechtriem manz 1986 Uniform Sales Law: The UN-Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods
Contrary to Peter Schlechtriem’s opinion, Arthur Rossett addressed point of inessentiality of the Convention and it is some like a critic for the Convention;
“. . . the convention is largely a cut-and-paste job, and the primary operative drafting principle was to produce a document that all could agree to and none would reject. I do wish that the drafters had seen their task more realistically as one of building from transaction and practice to principle . . . I wish they had shown greater realization that the process upon which they had embarked is an organic, continuing one . . . What we need are conventions more sensitive to need to incorporate the capacity for change, growth and discovery into the process of harmonization”
Arthur Rosett CISG Laid Bare: A Lucid Guide to a Muddy Code 21 Cornell International Law Journal (1988) 575-589 book review
NEGATIVE
“. . . the CISG’s tendency to compromise has also caused interpretative problems and diverging decisions. Nevertheless, given that worldwide legal systems, including the European Union differ remarkably, compromises are often the only building blocks for projects of contract law harmonization. Although the Draft Common Frame of Reference (DCFR) has not been sufficiently discussed by European lawyers and businesses, it is already anticipated that additional compromises will have to be made before the final CFR can become a successful optional instrument. Under the current state of flux encapsulating the DCFR, it is unlikely that its various references to good faith and fair dealing will survive in its finalized form.”
22 Pace International Law Review (2010) 145-181 Interpretation Rules and Good Faith as Obstacles to the UK’s Ratification of the CISG and to the Harmonization of Contract Law in Europe Nathalie Hofmann p180
I totally agree with these reasons because there are no big differences between the Vienna Convention and Sale of Goods Act. Maybe some features can bring new aspects in English Law, but English Law is still satisfactory without these new terms. I think the most important disadvantages of the Vienna Convention does not include an article about passing of property and validity of contract. In this point the Convention can be inadequate.