International Contracting


Book Description

For well over a decade, this prized guide has served practitioners handling the legal ramifications of international contracting projects. The fifth edition expands on issues discussed in the earlier one, along with new topics that continue to redefine the researching, drafting, and execution of international contracts. All the invaluable features of earlier editions are of course still here, including analysis of key contract issues unique to various types of contracting, common contract clauses, contract checklists, insights gleaned from actual cases and arbitral proceedings, and clear explanation of the principles of good contract drafting. The major relevant international conventions, model laws, pertinent national laws, legal guides, and other documents and instruments are all covered, with primary texts provided in the appendices. Some of the new issues and topics covered include: new potential causes of force majeure and hardship (pandemics and BREXIT); review of Incoterms 2020; new clauses covered (anti-slavery, exclusion, interpretation, no-waiver, sub-contracting, sustainability clauses, among others); rise of new international commercial courts; legaltech, smart contracts, and artificial intelligence; ethics; implementation of technology in legal practice; enforceability of penalty clauses; Internet sales and agency contracts; long-term contracts and goodwill compensation; data protection and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR); alliance, collaboration, and cooperation agreements; noncompete and nonsolicitation clauses; e-mail disclaimers; and separation and release agreements. The book acts as a single-volume reference in the negotiating and drafting of international contracts and offers expert insights regarding the reasonableness of many contract clauses and the likelihood of their enforcement in a foreign jurisdiction. An adroit combination of contract theory and contract practice, the book continues to provide guidance to law practitioners and students alike. “International Contracting is an excellent single volume reference that highlights the different issues relating to a variety of contracts. I recommend it to drafting attorneys writing domestic as well as transborder contracts.” – Christopher E. Howard (complex commercial transactions and development projects), Managing Partner, Pierce Atwood LLP, Portland, Maine “The latest edition of Professor DiMatteo's International Contracting constitutes a broad yet detailed coverage of international contract law and laws, as well as international practice. It drills down into the level of detail that supplies invaluable practical guidance of the sort not to be found in other publications.” – Professor Michael G. Bridge, London School of Economics “International Contracting is an ideal source for practitioners whether of the civil or common law. It also provides a concise review of international contracting issues and practices for the scholar and student interested in this area of law. I highly recommend it as a general resource on the topic.” – Michel Cannarsa, Dean & Professor, Lyon Catholic University




Multiple Contracts and Coordination in International Construction Projects


Book Description

International Arbitration Law Library, Volume Number 57 Collaboration between multiple parties from different countries is one of the main challenges of almost every international undertaking, and this is especially true in the case of large and complex construction projects, such as airport terminals, interchange subway stations, distribution centers, industrial processing and manufacturing facilities or hydropower plants. This comprehensive analysis of key legal issues arising from interdependencies between multiple contracts methodically lays out, from a Swiss law perspective, the way in which coordination of works in construction projects could or should occur. It also examines the legal consequences of coordination failure and various related aspects of dispute resolution. Topics covered include the following: interfaces and interdependencies across the system boundaries of multiple contracts coordination responsibilities derived from the principle of good faith and from a contextual interpretation of interdependence-related FIDIC Red Book provisions; delegation scenarios; liability for breach of contract and legal remedies in case of delay, disruption, defects, destruction and performance impossibility; direct claims against third parties; taking of evidence under substantively intertwined contracts; and coordination of interrelated arbitration proceedings. The detailed analysis draws on numerous specific real-life examples as well as illustrative Swiss and Unites States case law. An appendix offers very useful practice pointers. Although considering Swiss law, which is a frequent choice for the law governing international construction contracts, the analysis deals with an array of conceptual aspects of multiple contracts and coordination, thereby addressing a great number of issues beyond the limits of national law. With its practical examples, the book is sure to be welcomed by those seeking to avoid or resolve disputes to which project coordination may give rise. It will prove of particular value to practitioners negotiating international construction contracts, arbitrators, in-house counsel representing owners and contractors involved in international construction projects, members of dispute review boards and project managers.







International Contracting


Book Description

This book, about international contracting and contract management, is written from the angle of the contractor and discussed from an international perspective. It comments on real-life cases, taken from various kinds of projects: infrastructural works (roads, bridges, tunnels, rail roads), wind- and sunfarms, oil and gas installations, such as platforms, pipe lines, power generating works, and large buildings.The book is structured around the contracting cycle. Chapters include dealing with the role of the contractor in international contracting, the tender process, landing and negotiating the contract, types of contract, problems that may occur during project execution, project delivery, and handling guarantee claims.Written primarily for business practitioners operating in the international contracting industry, the title assumes that the reader will have a basic understanding and knowledge of theories related to project management, construction engineering, business law and economics.Though not an academic book, due to its unique blend of practitioners'' insight and academic theory, it can be taught in courses at institutes at the master level. As most engineers are going to deal with contracts, this book is specifically recommended for engineering programs both at the graduate and postgraduate level. Lawyers will find the book useful to understand the business context in which their customers and/or colleagues work.




Letter of Intent in International Contracting


Book Description

Letter of Intent in International Contracting provides readers with a unique point of reference on the legal effects of a letter of intent-the document frequently used in international transactions. Firstly, the book takes a fresh look at trade usages in negotiations of international contracts. It integrates the view of negotiations as strategies and tactics (well-known in business, but largely disregarded by the law) with the legal analysis. Secondly, it discusses in turn those provisions frequently used in a letter of intent and comments on them based on thorough comparative research of four jurisdictions: the Netherlands, France, England and Wales, and the United States. The discussion of French law is based on the recent reform of the French law of obligations which significantly modified the French Civil Code in 2016. At the international level, the study addresses the 1980 Vienna Convention on the International Sale of Goods and international soft law: UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts 2010, Principles of European Contract Law, and the Draft Common Frame of Reference. This book is a result of doctoral research conducted at the Erasmus University Rotterdam. It will be relevant to legal practitioners working in the field of international contracts, as well as to scholars and policy makers concerned with harmonization of law based on non-binding principles and business practices. Dissertation. (Series: Ius Commune Europaeum, Vol. 156) Subject: International Law, Contract Law]




Force Majeure and Hardship Under General Contract Principles


Book Description

Lawyers involved in international commercial transactions know well that unforeseen events affecting the performance of a party often arise. Not surprisingly, exemptions for non-performance are dealt with in a significant number of arbitral awards. This very useful book thoroughly analyzes contemporary approaches, particularly as manifested in case law, to the scope and content of the principles of exemption for non-performance which are commonly referred to as 'force majeure' and 'hardship.' The author shows that the 'general principles of law' approach addresses this concern most effectively. Generally accepted and understood by the business world at large, this approach encompasses principles of international commercial contracts derived from a variety of legal systems. It's most important 'restatements' are found in the 1980 United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) and the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts (UPICC). Establishing specific standards and "case groups" for the exemptions under review, the analysis treats such recurring elements as the following: contractual risk allocations; unforeseeability of an impediment; impediments beyond the typical sphere of risk and control of the obligor; responsibility for third parties (subcontractors, suppliers); legal impediments (acts of public authority) and effect of mandatory rules; involvement of states or state enterprises; interpretation of force majeure and hardship clauses; hardship threshold test; frustration of purpose; irreconcilable differences; comparison with exemptions under domestic legal systems (impossibility of performance, frustration of contract, impracticability) The book is a major contribution to the development of the use of general principles of law in international commercial arbitration. It may be used as a comprehensive commentary on the force majeure and hardship provisions of the UPICC, as well as on Art. 79 of the CISG. In addition, as an insightful investigation into the fundamental question of the limits of the principle of sanctity of contracts, this book is sure to capture the attention of business lawyers and interested academics everywhere.




Choice of Law in International Commercial Contracts


Book Description

This global study provides a definitive reference guide to the key choice of law principles on international contracts, including 60 national and regional reports written by experts from all parts of the world, and a dedicated commentary on the Hague Principles as applied to international commercial arbitration.




The Freshfields Guide to Arbitration Clauses in International Contracts


Book Description

With this newly updated edition of the Freshfields Guide to Arbitration Clauses in International Contracts - still in the concise, attractive format that made the original so popular - lawyers and business people will confidently negotiate contracts that ensure a speedy, clear-cut resolution of any dispute likely to arise. Taking into account the many significant developments in the law and practice of international arbitration that have occurred over the years since the previous editions, it offers: ; clear, uncomplicated contract-drafting advice, derived from the authors' wide-ranging practical experience; model clauses that ensure the effectiveness of dispute resolution provisions - and avoid pitfalls, and important reference materials.




Arbitration Clauses for International Contracts - 2nd Edition


Book Description

"This book, by a leading international arbitration practitioner, offers suggested language for every option that a drafter of an international arbitration clause may need. Following a succinct assessment of the choice between arbitration and litigation and commentary on the choices among arbitration fora and formats, the author presents an accessible how-to for drafting. While other works offer theory and a smattering of drafting tips, there is no other comprehensive collection of workable language, presented accessibly with easy-to-reference appendices. This book will be a standard reference for both in-house counsel and outside practitioners. This book provides, in an accessible format, clauses that address all the significant issues that contracting parties face, and in any event should consider, when they decide to draft a dispute resolution clause for an international contract. Those who wish immediate access to suggested language may turn directly to the Appendices. Those who wish to understand the analysis that leads to the suggested language should read the text."--Publisher's website.




An International Restatement of Contract Law: The UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts


Book Description

The Unidroit Principles of International Contracts, first published in 1994, have met with extraordinary success in the legal and business community worldwide. Prepared by a group of eminent experts from all major legal systems of the world, they provide a comprehensive set of rules for international commercial contracts. This new edition of An International Restatement of Contract Law is the first comprehensive introduction to the Unidroit Principles 2004. In addition, it provides an extensive survey and analysis of the actual use of the Unidroit Principles in practice with special emphasis on the different ways in which they have been interpreted and applied by the courts and arbitral tribunals in the hundred or so cases reported worldwide. The book also contains the full text of the Preamble and the 180 articles of the Unidroit Principles 2004 in Chinese, English, French, German, Italian and Russian as well as the 1994 edition in Spanish.