Study On The Uniform Interpretation Of The United Nations Convention On Contracts For The International Sale Of Goods

Since the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods（hereinafter referred to as CISG）came into force in 1988,94 countries have joined it at present.CISG seems to be successful in terms of popularity,but in terms of practice,CISG is still far away from achieving the goal of uniform application of international sales law.Because,like all laws,CISG also needs to be interpreted,but CISG does not have a supporting interpretation document,and the text of the treaty does not provide for an operable interpretation method.So the interpreters of the Contracting States often use domestic law and methods of interpreting domestic law when interpreting CSIG,which leads to conflicts of interpretation and refereeing among contracting states,which seriously affects the application of CISG and the development of international trade.In the 30 years since CISG came into effect,the relevant academic research on how to realize the uniform interpretation of CISG has never stopped.Based on the research results of scholars,this article mainly studies and answers the following questions:Chapter I,the overview of uniform interpretation.This chapter answers three questions:the first is the definition of uniform interpretation,based on the concept of uniform interpretation proposed by Chinese and foreign scholars,the concept of uniform interpretation advocated in this article is proposed.And then put forward that the content of "uniform" is not a fixed and consistent interpretation of each article,but the"method" and "standard" of uniform interpretation.Second,why uniform interpretation is needed,the paper puts forward four reasons for the unifiorm interpretation of CISG due to the ambiguity of its own terms,the translation of texts,the lack of provisions on some of the issues,the "homeward trend" and the "outward trend".The third is whether the uniform interpretation has the possibility of implementation.It claims that the strict unification cannot be achieved,but the functional unification can be achieved,that is,the unification can improve the certainty and predictability of CISG application.The second chapter is about the rules that must be observed in the uniform interpretation,article 7 of CISG.This paper analyzes the three principles of CISG interpretation stipulated in Article 7（1）"international character","promotion of the unity of application","good faith principle",as well as Article 7（2）,which is the supplementary clause of CISG,and puts forward the claim that Article 7 only theoretical guidance and does not provide specific means of interpretation for CISG.It also discusses the relationship between the interpretation rules（article 31-33）of Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties（hereinafter referred to as Vienna Convention）and article 7 of CISG,claiming that the relationship between the two is between common law and special law.C hapter III,uniform interpretation of available resources,advocates the inclusion of the general principles of CISG,legislative history,foreign precedent,international unified legal documents,academic writings,domestic law,a total of six resources are the resources available for the uniform interpretation of CISG,and specifies the rationality and legitimacy of the resources that can be used as uniform interpretation of resources,the considerations for the application of resources,the specific content of the resources and access to such resources.Chapter IV,the flexible use of various resources to achieve uniform interpretation.It is argued that the international nature of CISG and the possibility of uniform interpretation of CISG cannot be realized through a single resource,and it is required that various resources should be used flexibly to achieve uniform interpretation.Secondly,it defines the "flexibility" advocated in this article,and advocates that there should be necessary restrictions to achieve uniform interpretation through flexible means,and proposes three restrictive conditions.Thirdly,it discusses the ranks of various interpretation resources,and believes that the order of application of the six resources should be:the general principles of CISG,legislative history,foreign precedents,international uniform legal documents,scholars’ writings,and domestic laws.This paper also discusses the rank of interpretation method of Vienna Convention in the interpretation of CISG.Finally,a three-point method to test the interpretation results is proposed:（1）use the next-level interpretation resource’s result to verify,（2）use the broad general principles of CISG such as autonomy of will,honesty,fairness,and reasonableness to verify,（3）use the purpose and objectives of the CISG to test the interpretation results.Chapter V,how to promote uniform interpretation methods and resources in States Parties.Four measures are proposed:popularize the CISG database,establish a global CISG information exchange platform,fundamentally change the interpreters’thinking through education,and raise the attention of States parties to the issue of uniform interpretation of CISG.