Interpretation of ‘writing’:  Comparison between provisions of the CISG (Article 13) and the counterpart provisions of the PECL

Ulrich Schroeter*

This is the second of four articles in this editions special feature.  The articles collectively provide four comparative analyses of some of the provisions of the CISG and PECL by Ulrich Schroeter, Allison Butler and Christopher Kee. ‘Freedom of Contract (Art. 6 CSIG)’ and ‘Interpretation of "Writing" (Art. 13 CISG)’ by Schroeter, ‘Interpretation of "Place of Business" (Art. 10 CISG)’ by Butler and ‘Remedies for Part Performance (Arts. 51 and 73 CISG)’ by Kee have been written as part of an initiative by the Institute of International Commercial Law of the Pace University School of Law to provide interpretive aids for the use of the CISG - now part of the domestic laws of 61 countries for up to 22 years. The project is edited by Dr John Felemegas of Australia. This comparative law project, in considering the non-organic form of the CISG since its inception, aims to maintain a currency in its application and interpretation through the use of recent restatements of the law of sales, including the PECL.

*   The author studied law at the University of Freiburg (Germany) and the University of Lausanne (Switzerland), and graduated from the University of Freiburg in 1998. Since 2000 he is a member of the Graduiertenkolleg ‘Europäisches Privat - und Wirtschaftsrecht’ at the Humboldt-University in Berlin (Germany), and since 2002 he serves as a post-graduate judicial trainee (Rechtsreferendar) at the Kammergericht (Court of Appeals) in Berlin.