GUIDE TO CISG ARTICLE 53

Secretariat Commentary (closest counterpart to an Official Commentary)

Guide to the use of this commentary

The Secretariat Commentary is on the 1978 Draft of the CISG, not the Official Text, which re-numbered most of the articles of the 1978 Draft. The Secretariat Commentary on article 49 of the 1978 Draft is quoted below with the article references contained in this commentary conformed to the numerical sequence of the Official Text, e.g., article 49 [draft counterpart of CISG article 53].

To the extent it is relevant to the Official Text, the Secretariat Commentary on the 1978 Draft is perhaps the most authoritative source one can cite. It is the closest counterpart to an Official Commentary on the CISG. A match-up of this article of the 1978 Draft with the version adopted for the Official Text is necessary to document the relevancy of the Secretariat Commentary on this article. See the match-up for this article for a validation of citations to this Secretariat Commentary. This match-up indicates that article 49 of the 1978 Draft and CISG article 53 are identical.

Text of Secretariat Commentary on article 49 of the 1978 Draft
[draft counterpart of CISG article 53]   [General obligations of the buyer]

PRIOR UNIFORM LAW

ULIS, article 56

COMMENTARY

Article 49 [draft counterpart of CISG article 53] states the principal obligations of the buyer and introduces Chapter III of Part III of the Convention. The principal obligations of the buyer are to pay the price for the goods and to take deliver of them. The buyer must carry out his obligations "as required by the contract and this Convention." Since article 5 [draft counterpart of CISG article 6] of the Convention permits the parties to exclude its application or to derogate from or vary the effect of any of its provisions, it follows that in cases of conflict between the contract and the Convention the buyer must fulfill his obligations as required by the contract. (OFFICIAL RECORDS, p.44).