Legal Costs As Damages Under The United Nations Convention On Contracts For International Sale Of Goods

In international commercial court or arbitration,the reimbursement of legal costs is closely connected to the interest of both parties.However,under the damage clause article 74 of the convention,it is unclear whether legal costs can be reimbursed as damage,which gives rise to furious debate in practice and theoretical realm.According to the discussion about the reimbursement of legal costs among various scholars,this article does not agree to apply the national standard of distinguishing the nature of a legal problem to international law,as it is nonsense to make such a distinction.The reimbursement of legal costs should base on article 7 of the convention to explain.In addition,compared with the principle of equality and the principle of full compensation,this article agrees that the principle of full compensation should be applied to explain the damages under the convention.Under this principle,this article analyzes the reimbursement of litigation fees and extra-judicial fees,legal costs in parallel proceedings and contingency fee under various conditions,and concludes that,except some particular condition,those cost which satisfy the requirement under article 74 and article 77 can be reimbursed as damages.In the end,this article discusses the practice of reimbursement of legal costs in China and its reflection,that is,by analyzing relevant cases involving reimbursement of legal costs in China,considering that the loser-pay rule should be applied in China.As to cases where can apply the convention,the damages of legal costs should be explained under article 74 of the convention.