Case Law of Greek Courts for the Vienna Convention (1980) for International Sale of Goods (Dionysios P. Flambouras)
It has been 10 years since the CISG entered into force in Greece. During these ten years the CISG has been the object of many Greek studies and monographs, and Greek courts have dealt with contracts of sale governed by the CISG. This study concentrates on the manner in which Greek courts have interpreted the CISG and sets out systematically (i.e. following CISG structure) the results from the judicial interpretation. Following review of the relevant judgments and by way of general conclusion one could say that Greek courts have delivered interesting (mostly correct, although often incomplete) judgments in connection with various important matters. Such matters include, the legal nature of the CISG (soft law), its interpretation, its sphere of application, problematic areas such as pre-contractual liability, unjust enrichment, the validity and effect of the international trade terms in contracts governed by the CISG, the seller' obligations under the CISG, and the remedies of the buyer in the event of seller's breach. Such issues are also the buyer's duty to examine the goods and provide notice of lack of non-conformity in the event that the seller delivers non-conforming goods, the seller's non-exemption from its liability for damages in case of an event constituting hardship, the buyer's obligations under the CISG and the seller's remedies in the event of breach by the buyer, the concept of fundamental breach, the exercise of the remedy of avoidance, the calculation of damages and the calculation of the rate of interest.
