Towards the harmonized interpretation of international trade law texts: A new approach to discover effective methods

This thesis proposes a number of general methods for achieving an effective harmonized interpretation of international trade law texts in order to facilitate, easier and less costly international business and commercial relationships worldwide. This would also reduce significantly the volume and length of trade disputes and their accompanying litigation. This study argues that the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) can assist in implementing the proposed harmonization by making certain changes in its Case Law on UNCITRAL Texts (CLOUT) system. We also argue that the 1980 Vienna Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) and the Principles of the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT) can be used to achieve the goal of harmonization. The new approach proposed for achieving harmonization is based on a comparative study of international interpretation provisions undertaken in the thesis, as well as on the argument that lex mercatoria and its various forms (written and non-written) could contribute significantly to the process of harmonization.