EDB organizes UNCITRAL seminar to increase business resilience

Manama, Nov. 16 (BNA): Under the patronage of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments Minister Nawaf bin Mohammed Al Maawda, the Bahrain Bar Society, in cooperation with the Economic Development Board of Bahrain (EDB) and the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), organized a seminar on the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). The CISG Is a treaty that provides a uniform legal framework for the formation and performance of contracts for the sale of goods across borders. It is the most broadly adopted uniform contract law treaty, with 95 States parties to it, including the USA, China, Japan, and 25 EU Member States, Egypt, Lebanon, and Iraq. Bahrain adopted the CISG in 2013 and the treaty is in force in the Kingdom since October 1 2014. Bahrain is the first Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member that has adopted the CISG, and other GCC member States are considering its adoption. Dr. Luca Castellani of the UNCITRAL Secretariat provided an overview of the content of the CISG. He explained that the CISG is a modern treaty that provides a balanced legal framework to sellers and buyers, and that is specifically designed for long-distance transactions. He said that the CISG aims to preserve the economic value of the contract, which is particularly important in cross-border transactions given the higher transaction costs. Dr. Castellani added that the CISG allows parties to the sales contract to tailor its provisions to their needs, or even, if so wished, to exclude its application. At the same time, the CISG offered an effective safety net for all those cases where the parties did not choose the law applicable to the contract, or could not fully negotiate their contractual terms. He explained that the CISG gave useful guidance also in case of disruption due to unforeseen events such as COVID-19, by clarifying the duties of the parties and allocating risks. Dr. Castellani recalled that the CISG is complemented by the United Nations Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts, another treaty prepared by UNCITRAL. Bahrain adopted this Convention as part of its legal framework for the digital trade agenda, which is particularly modern and complete. Dr. Castellani also stressed that the CISG is indispensable for any country actively involved in cross-border trade, and could be particularly useful to promote economic exchanges in the GCC in line with the current policies of economic diversification and integration. He concluded by inviting Bahraini judges, lawyers, and practitioners to take advantage of the large number of materials available on the CISG, which include more than 5,000 judicial decisions, and to apply the CISG whenever convenient. Elham Ali Hassan & Associates Law Principal Partner Elham Ali Hassan spoke at the seminar and compared the provisions of the convention to the corresponding provisions under Bahraini law.