International Trade Law

Seminar No. 5 - Claims for breach of an international sales contract - overview, conditions for assertion. Compensation for damages. Regulation in the Vienna Convention. Arbitration award

Objectives of the fifth seminar:

  • you will review the division of defects and how each defect affects its notification (the complaint process) and the choice of claims
  • get an overview of the application of breach of contract claims
  • you will learn about the conditions for asserting claims for breach of contract by the buyer
  • you will learn about the claims that the seller can make and the conditions for making them 
  • discuss withdrawal from the contract in more detail and distinguish between withdrawal from the contract in different situations
  • you will be able to work with the provisions on damages
  • you will learn which cases are covered by the so-called force majeure in the CISG regime
  • you will learn about other clauses in international trade, such as hardship, liquidated damages and default interest
  • learn whether and which party has a duty to preserve the goods 
  • give an example of a situation of  "at risk performance"
  • learn the difference between a domestic arbitration award and a foreign arbitration award
  • distinguish between setting aside an arbitral award and refusing to recognise and enforce an arbitral award
  • you will test all of this on given examples

Before the seminar:

  • read thoroughly the relevant articles of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, especially Articles 25, 74-88 (other articles should be known from previous seminars)
  • have the assignment for seminar no. 4 with you - there are also examples for seminar no. 5 (in addition to the ones below), prepare their solutions
  • study the assigned chapters in the textbook
  • review your teacher's seminar presentation, if it is embedded 
  • have other relevant regulations with you 
  • use the help of PMO cast


Compulsory Readings
  • Rozehnalová, N., Valdhans, J., Kyselovská, T. Právo mezinárodního obchodu. Včetně problematiky mezinárodního rozhodčího řízení. Praha: Wolters Kluwer, 2021.
    • Chapter XI (pp. 253-292)
    • Chapter XXIV and XXV (pp. 491-523)

Presentation: To be added