Principles of UNIDROIT relating to the contracts of the international business

The principles of UNIDROIT relating to the contracts of the international business are Principe S, released by the International institute for the unification of the private law, which have vocation to govern the Contrat S of the International business. They can apply to such contracts when the parts choose it explicitly, or if the parts do not choose a particular national right which should govern the contract, or then to be used as index to the judge, to national or international, to interpret the international contracts, and finally have vocation to inspire the national or international legislators which would propose rules on the matter. Published in the origin in 1994, they were re-examined and modified in 2004. Today, a third version is under development, in order to supplement and to consolidate these principles juridically.

An original legal instrument

Development of the principles of UNIDROIT

The development of the principles of UNIDROIT proceeded in a general legal environment tending to a standardization of the civil law and contract law, in particular at the European level.

As of 1971, the development of these principles appears in the work program of UNIDROIT, intergovernmental organization. The intergovernmental organization creates in its center a “pilot committee” to undertake a diagnosis and preparatory work of the international legal situation; this committee controls was composed of 3 lawyers, each one representing a legal system: Rene David represented the systems of civil law, Clive Mr. Schmitthoff the countries of Common law , and Tudor Popescu represented as for him the socialist legal system. In 1980, per hour of the signature of the Convention of the United Nations on the international sale contracts of goods, this effort was reinforced by the creation of a special work group, charged with writing a project., made up specialists in all the legal systems of planet. Finally, the first version of the principles was published in 1994. However, mainly in order to take into account the development of the e-business, these principles were re-examined the 19 April 21st, 2004 during the 83e session of the Board of management of UNIDROIT.

The specificity of the form of the principles

These principles were worked out by an intergovernmental organization, UNIDROIT, which has the role of unifying the Private law. In this direction, it is in particular brought to propose with its 61 Member States international conventions , whose application prevails on the Internal rights. However, the relatively long duration preceding the coming into effect by these instruments of international law (which must be signed, ratified or approved according to the country and the legal mode of the international treaties defined by the Constitution) certain techniques of standardization make more attractive. Anne-Marie Trahan, judge with the Superior court of Quebec and member of the Board of management of UNIDROIT, also evokes a “legislative nationalism” which makes impossible a true considered and organized standardization, since the various lawyers who take part in the work groups aiming at creating international conventions on the subject tend to put each one ahead specificities of their national right to generalize them with the whole of the other legal systems.

Indeed, this particular instrument has the role, without having of general obligatory force for the whole of the contracts of the international business, to inspire initially the international referee S, even the official Juge S.

However, under the terms of the Theory of the autonomy of the will, the parts can also decide to consider these principles as objective rules which govern the contract.

The success of the principles of UNIDROIT

It results from this procedure, that in particular, the success of this new legal instrument, and this new method of édiction of legal rules, cannot meet of real success only if international legal community and the various international economic actors (who are professionals, since the principles of UNIDROIT could be applied only to international tradesmen) adhere to it and refer to it. So some moderates it, the environment of the lawyers rather seems to go towards an lively interest, if not a certain enthusiasm.

Principles of UNIDROIT

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