Lloyd's Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly

Professor Francis D Rose

Document

English sales law in the twenty-first century: Selected themes

Djakhongir Saidov*

This article reflects on English sales law in the light of several themes.  First, does the law strike the right balance between certainty and flexibility? This theme is analysed with reference to the classification of terms, aspects of remedies and the legal characterisation of a contract. Secondly, has the law responded effectively to electronic documents and digital products? Thirdly, should English sales law, substantially shaped by the “commodities” trade, change its character to suit some “non-commodities” sales contracts? Finally, is it time for the UK to ratify the UN Sales Convention (CISG)? This thematic exploration highlights the directions in which English sales law should move forward to remain one of the world’s leading  sales law regimes.

* Professor of Commercial Law, King’s College London. A version of this article was presented at the University of Nottingham Commercial Law Centre seminar on 15 November 2023. The author is grateful to Dr Soterios Loizou and Dr Sanam Saidova for their helpful comments on a draft of this article. Any errors are the author’s own.

The following abbreviations are used:

Benjamin: MG Bridge et al (eds), Benjamin’s Sale of Goods, 12th edn (London, 2023);

CISG: Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods 1980;

ETDA: Electronic Trade Documents Act 2023;

Goode & McKendrick: E McKendrick, Goode and McKendrick on Commercial Law, 6th edn (London, 2020);

Law Com 405: Law Commission, Electronic Trade Documents: Report and Bill (Law Com No 405, 2022);

Oxera: Oxera, “Economic Value of English Law” (https://legaluk.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/The-value-of-English-law-to-the-UK-economy.pdf);

LTSA: long-term sales agreement;

Saidov, Research Handbook: D Saidov (ed), Research Handbook on International and Comparative Law Sale of Goods Law (Cheltenham, 2019);

Saidov & Cunnington: D Saidov and R Cunnington, Contract Damages: Domestic and International Perspectives (Oxford, 2008);

SGA: Sale of Goods Act 1979:

SME: small and medium-sized enterprises.

608

The rest of this document is only available to i-law.com online subscribers.

If you are already a subscriber, click Log In button.