Recueil des cours, Collected Courses, Tome/Volume 342

Co-publication with: The Hague Academy of International Law.

The Influence of the International Sale of Goods Convention on Domestic Law Including Conflict of Laws (with Specific Reference to Russian Law) Valeriy Musin
The course of lectures deals with Russian civil law norms regulating sales contract as compared with relevant rules of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (Vienna, 1980).
The author shows that Russian norms are quite consistent with those of the Convention as well as with the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts.

A Transcivilizational Perspective on International Law. Questioning Prevalent Cognitive Frameworks
in the Emerging Multi-Polar and Multi-Civilizational World of the Twenty-First Century Yasuaki Onuma
The twenty-first century will witness conflicts which may destabilize the international order. These conflicts are likely to arise between emerging Asian States such as China and India whose material power is growing, and the Western nations who wield significant ideational power. A West-centric international society will change to a multi-polar and multi-civilizational global society. This structural change includes, and further needs, changes of understandings and perceptions of the world, including of international law. The perspectives from which we see, understand, appreciate and assess international law must change. We need to interpret international law not only from a prevalent Statecentric international perspective and West-centric transnational perspective. Onuma argues that we must grasp international law from what he calls a trans-civilizational perspective as well. By adopting such three-layered perspectives, international law is shown to be functioning as a tool of politics yet constrained by cultural and civilizational factors. Such complex subjects as global history of international law, concepts of general and customary international law, and human rights could be appreciated in a more nuanced and subtle manner.