September 18, 2009
CONFERENCE ON INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL LAW 19-20.10.2009
UNIFICATION AND HARMONIZATION OF INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL LAW-INTERACTION OR DEHARMONIZATION?
Unification of international commercial law has taken place by e.g. adoption of conventions like the CISG, UNIDROIT Principles or by way of international model contracts. In this way, a formal reference for unification is created - and theoretically it should promote the end result: a harmonized law for international commercial transactions.
However, the result is not always as intended e.g. because the surrounding background law and different legal traditions do not always support a uniform application of the different formal instruments. Furthermore, party autonomy is playing an important role in this context, e.g. by way of choice of law and jurisidiction. International contract practices, usages and standard terms also play an important role as "informal instruments" in the development of uniform international commercial law, simply by the way it forms an informal uniform law in practice. This is often referred to as Lex Mercatoria.
In this context, it is important to consider whether there should be a preferred way; of developing a uniform International Commercial Law; how different means of unification of international commercial law interact with each other; and how conventions, principles etc. interact with party autonomy and contract practice. What are the benefits of a more formal way of harmonization? What are the benefits of unification by means of party autonomy and contract practice? How do these formal and informal ways of unification interact and how do they compete? Is there a preferred way of harmonixation or is it impossible to decide which method should be ther preferred one? Shoud the interaction and tension be seen as a positive and necessary step in the further development of a uniform or harmonized law? Will the different international instruments rather give rise to new complicated questions, i.e. which of several international instruments are applicable or what order of priority should apply?
JOIN this conference as some of the most prominent reserachers in the field of International Commercial Law present and discuss recent and future trends. The conference will take place on 19-20 October 2009 at the School of Law at Aarhus University in Denmark.
