Founded in 1991, the Pace Law School Institute of International Commercial Law (IICL) promotes the commercial rule of law and access to justice by leveraging technological innovation to (1) provide high-quality educational opportunities and online legal resources in international commercial law and dispute resolution; and (2) facilitate the development of online dispute prevention, management and resolution systems. For the last few decades, the IICL has supported its two flagship programs, the CISG Database and the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot, as well as continuously innovated to provide new programming and resources for the international commercial law and dispute resolution communities.
CISG Database – Setting the Standard
Built on the philosophy that universally-free access to legal information contributes to peaceful cooperation among trading partners and countries, the Pace-IICL CISG Database offers the most current and comprehensive collection of information on the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG), the law governing commercial transactions among the majority of the world’s trading nations. See information on the board and editorial staff.
Our electronic library includes:
- Identification of States that have adopted the CISG;
- Texts of the CISG in a variety of languages;
- Volumes of material on the CISG’s legislative history;
- A bibliography on International Contract Law, containing over 10,000 entries;
- Over 2,000 full-texts of monographs, commentaries and books on International Contract Law;
- Over 6,000 CISG case law presentations (including over 1,600 translations);
- Annotated CISG text pages;
- Guides for managers and counsel;
- Links to the Autonomous Network of CISG Databases; and
- Links to related international commercial law sites.
Vis Moot – The World’s Meeting Place
The Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot, named after the Institute’s first Director, Willem C. Vis and intially directed by Eric Bergsten, Professor Emeritus at Pace Law School, is a staple in the training of law students in international sales law and international commercial arbitration around the world, as well as a professional networking event for persons in both fields of law.
Beyond the Database and Moot
Building on these successful programs, the Pace Institute of International Commercial Law continues to contribute to the landscape of teaching and scholarship in international commercial law and international commercial arbitration through its sponsorship and initiative in the creation of the following programs:
- COVID-19 Resource Center and Roundtable
- Online Vis Arbitration Pre-Moot;
- Clive M. Schmitthoff International Essay Competition (with the Centre for Commercial Law Studies at Queen Mary College, University of London);
- Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) Intiatives;
- CISG Advisory Council (founded with the Centre for Commercial Law Studies at Queen Mary College);
- CISG Translation Network;
- Lexical Initiative for International Commerce (LIIC).
For further information contact:
Institute of International Commercial Law
Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University
78 North Broadway
White Plains, NY 10603
cisg@law.pace.edu