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27 Unif. L. Rev. 1 (2022)

handle is hein.journals/droit2022 and id is 1 raw text is: 






                         Genericism in the uniformity

                         endeavour: a plea against

                         the one-size-fits-all

                         approach



                                                            Boris Prastalo*




Abstract
This article focuses on the practice of United Nations Commission on International
Trade Law  (UNCITRAL)  to include the text of Article 7 of the United Nations
Convention on  Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) into an array
of other instruments, including model laws. Article 7 of the CISG lays out the inter-
pretative methodology of this Convention. The discussion in this article is con-
ducted through the lens of UNCITRAL's  best-known model  law-the  UNCITRAL
Model  Law  on International Commercial Arbitration-whose  Article 2A is the
counterpart to CISG's Article 7. To this end, this article first explains the difference
between  model laws and conventions. Second, it focuses on Article 7 of the CISG,
explaining its meaning, purpose, and the widely accepted mode of operation. Third,
the article shifts its focus specifically to Article 2A of the UNCITRAL Model Law on
International Commercial Arbitration, and against the backdrop of the discussion
on Article 7 of the CISG, seeks to unpack the meaning and scope of Article 2A. Last,
but not least, the article will make a determination as to whether adding Article 2A
to the Model Law was a good idea to begin with. Given the fact that other model
laws contain similar or practically verbatim provisions, conclusions reached in this
article also ought to be relevant outside of the realm of the Model  Law on
International Commercial Arbitration itself.


I. Introduction

The  United Nations  Commission   on International Trade Law  (UNCITRAL)
Model  Law  on  International Commercial  Arbitration  (Model  Law), one  of
the quintessential legal instruments adopted by UNCITRAL   towards  the pro-
motion  of progressive harmonization   of commercial   law at a global level,
has, over the course of years, achieved nothing short of success. Since 1985,


*Boris Prastalo, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law, International University of Sarajevo, Bosnia
and  Herzegovina. He holds an SJD degree from Central European University. Email:
bprastalo@ius.edu.ba

© The Author(s) (2022). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of UNIDROIT. All rights reserved.
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                                                   Unif. L. Rev., Vol. 27, 2022, 1-20
                                                https://doi.org/10.1093/ulr/unac005
                                       Advance Access Publication Date: 12 May 2022