The international treaty governing contracts for the international sale of goods is the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, commonly called the CISG.
Adopted in Vienna in 1980, the CISG creates a relatively uniform set of rules for cross-border business sales. It generally applies when the parties have places of business in different contracting states, or when private international-law rules point to the law of a contracting state. Parties may also choose it in circumstances recognized by the Convention.
The CISG addresses contract formation, sellers’ and buyers’ obligations, conformity of goods, delivery, payment, passing of risk, damages, and remedies such as avoiding a contract after a fundamental breach. It is designed to reduce uncertainty that would otherwise arise when businesses operate under different national sales laws.
The Convention is not a universal code for every international transaction. It generally excludes consumer purchases, services, many specified categories of goods, contract validity, and the effect of a sale on property ownership. Incoterms, by contrast, are standardized trade terms rather than a treaty, while the Warsaw Convention concerns international air carriage.