September 23, 2020

On September 23, 2020, Portugal became the 94th State party to the United Nations Convention on the international sale of goods by depositing its instrument of accession.

According to Article 99 (2) “When a State ratifies, accepts, approves or accedes to this Convention after the deposit of the tenth instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, this Convention, with the exception of the Part excluded, enters into force in respect of that State, subject to the provisions of paragraph (6) of this article, on the first day of the month following the expiration of twelve months after the date of the deposit of its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession.“

Therefore, the CISG will enter into force in our country on October 1, 2021 and will govern “the formation of the contract of sale and the rights and obligations of the seller and the buyer arising from such a contract. In particular, except as otherwise expressly provided in this Convention, it is not concerned with:
(a) The validity of the contract or of any of its provisions or of any usage;
(b) The effect which the contract may have on the property in the goods sold.”

According to Article 7 (1) “In the interpretation of this Convention, regard is to be had to its international character and to the need to promote uniformity in its application and the observance of good faith in international trade.“

There are six official languages in the CISG text and all are equally authentic. However, English and French were the languages in which the deliberations and legal negotiations among the representatives of the Contracting States took place.

Therefore, this website will be written mainly in English, but we will admit some texts in other languages whenever they are useful to promote the knowledge of the CISG and its application.