Description

2015 marks the 35th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). The CISG is a treaty that provide for a uniform law to govern international sales contracts. It has been ratified by 83 states which together account for a very significant proportion of world trade. It is one of the most successful international uniform laws.

The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) which formulated the CISG has decided to commemorate this anniversary with a series of events aimed at taking stock of the current status of the CISG and of possible future developments relating to the CISG in the field of contract law.

Singapore adopted the CISG in 1995 and is the only State party to the CISG in South East Asia. However, there is not much information on the use of the CISG in Singapore and local precedents on its application remain scarce. On the other hand, in other East Asian States the CISG is used regularly not only as a treaty applicable to contracts for the international sale of goods but also as a model for national law reform.

The UNCITRAL Secretariat, including the UNCITRAL Regional Centre for Asia and the Pacific, has partnered with the Attorney- General’s Chambers of Singapore, the Ministry of Law, the Singapore Academy of Law, the Singapore Management University (SMU) and the National University of Singapore (NUS) to organise a two-day event addressing a number of aspects of the use of CISG at the national, regional and global level. The focus will be on trends in the use of the CISG in legal practice in Singapore and in other Asian States as well as the possible contribution of the CISG to the future of contract law. Particular attention will be given to the role of the CISG in promoting regional trade and supporting economic integration in South East and East Asia.

The Keynote Address for this seminar will be delivered by the Attorney-General of Singapore, the Hon. V K Rajah, SC. Other speakers and panellists are drawn from overseas and Singapore experts on the CISG and international contract law. They include Prof Yeo Tiong Min, SC, Dean of the School of Law of SMU; Mr Renaud Sorieul, The Secretary of UNCITRAL; Mr Luca Castellani, Legal Officer, UNCITRAL, Vienna; Prof Mo Shijian, Dean of the University of Macau Law School, People’s Republic of China; Mr Michael Bridge, Professor, NUS Faculty of Law and London School of Economics; Prof Emeritus Takashi Ushida, Ministry of Justice, Japan; Mr Chan Leng Sun, SC, President of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators; Mr Toh Kian Sing, SC, Senior Partner, M/S Rajah & Tann, Singapore; Mr Joao Ribeiro, Director, UNCITRAL Regional Centre for Asia and the Pacific; Professor Hsu Locknie (SMU), ASEAN Law Association; Professor Angelo Chianale, University of Torino, Italy; Dr Lisa Spagnolo, Monash University, Australia; A/Professor Gary Bell of NUS and A/Prof Gary Low of SMU; Mr Charles Lim,  Parliamentary Counsel (Special Projects) of Attorney-General’s Chambers of Singapore and Mr Soh Kee Bun, Senior State Counsel, Attorney-General’s Chambers of Singapore.

There will be a Public Lecture in conjunction with this seminar which will be delivered by the Chief Justice of Singapore, The Hon. Mr Sundaresh Menon. The Hon Chief Justice will speak on “Roadmaps for the Transnational Convergence of Commercial Law: lessons Learnt from the CISG”.