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Abstract

This article attempts to shed light on how the United Nations Convention on Contracts of the International Sale of Goods 1980 (CISG) regulates the validity of international sales contracts, using juridical normative research methods through literature studies. According to Article 4(a) of the CISG, the Convention does not govern matters on validity, with certain exceptions. This research shows that CISG governs some matters pertaining to validity: formal validity, initial impossibility of performance, and open-price contracts. As seen from the cases of Forestal Guarani v. Daros International and Geneva Pharmaceuticals v. Barr Laboratories, the CISG allocates those validity issues that do not fall under its purview to the applicable domestic law, as determined by Private International Law. In addition, this research discusses how other international instruments, Indonesian internal law, Indonesian Private International Law, and Indonesia’s Draft Law on Private International Law regulate validity issues. This article will delve into the following matters in sequence: (i) the validity of international sales contracts in accordance with Indonesian domestic law, Indonesia’s current Private International Law framework, and the Indonesian draft Private International Law; (ii) the validity of international sales contracts according to other international instruments; and (iii) the validity of international sales contracts as regulated by the CISG.

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