United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL)

The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) is the core legal body of the United Nations system in the field of uniform commercial law. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (Vienna, 1980) (CISG) is one of its most successful instruments.

UNCITRAL and its Secretariat promote the uniform interpretation of the CISG in a variety of ways, including through provision of the “Case law on UNCITRAL texts” (CLOUT) system and the UNCITRAL Digest of Case Law on the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG Digest).

The Pace Database on the CISG and International Commercial Law (Pace CISG Database) operates independently from UNCITRAL and its Secretariat, but it is recognized as an important additional tool for promoting the CISG and its uniform interpretation. The Pace CISG Database both benefits from and contributes to UNCITRAL’s efforts. On the one hand, it makes use of CLOUT case law abstracts and the CISG Digest, and, on the other, its vast database of case law and academic writings supplements the cases collected in the CLOUT system and provides valuable source material used in the preparation of the CISG Digest. In addition to providing legislators, judges and practicing lawyers with in-depth information on the CISG, the Pace CISG Database is a useful teaching tool often referred to by students participating in educational activities supported by UNCITRAL, including, for example, the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot.