Transnational Notes

Professor Ferrari, who joined NYU full-time in 2010, after serving as full professor of law at Tilburg University (the Netherlands), Bologna University (Italy) and Verona University (Italy), has just edited an article-by-article commentary on the Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 on the law applicable to contractual obligations, of which he is also the co-author.

As Professor Ferrari writes in the Preface to the book, parties to any transaction require predictability and legal certainty, as it is the predictability and legal certainty that allow the parties to assess the legal and economic risks involved in the transaction and, thus, allows them to decide whether to enter into the transaction at all. This need is felt even more strongly where the transaction is not a purely domestic one but is linked to more than one country. To reach the desired predictability and legal certainty in an international context, various approaches have been resorted to. The drafting of uniform rules of private international law is one such approach. It aims at guaranteeing that courts in the States where such uniform rules are in force will apply the same substantive rules no matter what court a dispute is brought before, thus reducing transactions costs by requiring a party to make provision for one law only. The Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 on the law applicable to contractual obligations (Rome I) sets forth such a set of uniform private international law rules for (most of) the member states of the EU. The book provides students and practitioners with a concise and instructive article-by-article commentary which explains the underlying concepts and suggests solutions for problems that have arisen or may arise in the application of the Regulation.

Professor Franco Ferrari, Director of the Center for Transnational Litigation and Commercial Law, has just published the second edition of his book entitled “Contracts for the International Sales of Goods”. This book provides an examination of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). Extensively referenced, the volume focuses on three issues, which, due to particular attention from courts and arbitral tribunals, are considered “typical” of CISG related disputes. These include the exact determination of the CISG’s sphere of application; both the non-conformity of delivered goods and the notice of non-conformity; and the determination of the rate of interest on sums in arrears. The  analysis helps readers understand the broader context in which these issues are embedded, and ultimately illustrates how the CISG is interpreted and applied in different jurisdictions.

Professor Franco Ferrari co-edited (with Professor Fracnesco Galgano et al.) and co-authored the fifth edition of a book in Italian entitled “Atlas of Comparative Private Law”. The book collects articles on twenty topics in the area of private law, ranging from transfer of property to tort law, from contract formation to bankruptcy.

Professor Franco Ferrari published a paper (in Portuguese) entitled “The Relationship between international uniform law conventions and the need for an interconventional interpreation”, in Estudio de direito comparado e de direito internacional privado (I. de Aguilar Vieira ed., Curitiba, 2011).

Professors Linda Silberman and Franco Ferrari publish a paper entitled “Getting to the law applicable to the merits in international arbitration and the consequences for getting it wrong”, in Conflict of Laws in International Arbitration (F. Ferrari and S. Kröll eds., 2010)

Professor Ferrari publishes a paper (with Dr. Francesca Ragno) entitled “Consumer Protection in International Private Relationships. European Union”, in Consumer Protection in International Private Relationships/La protection des consommateurs dans les relations privées internationales (D.P. Fernandez Arroyo ed., 2010)

Professor Ferrari publishes a paper on the unification of the law of receivables financing, entitled “Die Vereinheitlichung des Abtretungsrechts als Spiegel der Vereinheitlichung des internationalen Handelsrechts im Allgemeinen”, in Europäisches Kreditsicherungsvertragsrecht. Ulrich Drobnig zum 80. Geburtstag (J. Basedow et als. eds., 2010).

Professors Gillette and Ferrari publish a paper entitled “Warranties and ‘Lemons'” under the Article 35(2)(a) CISG” in German law review (Internationales Handelsrecht 2010, 2). For the full text of the paper click here.

Professor Silberman publishes a paper entitled “The New York Convention After Fity Years: Some Reflections on the Role of National Law” in the Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law (38 Ga. J. Int’l & Comp. L. 25 (2009)).

Professor Ferrari publishes a book entitled “The Sources of the Law of Contracts for the International Sale of Goods” (2009) in Spanish. For more information click here.

Professors Silberman and Choi publish a paper entitled “Transnational Litigation and Global Securities Class-Action Law-Suits” in the Wisconsin Law Review (2009 Wis. L. Rev. 465 (2009)). For the abstract click here.

Professor Ferrari publishes a paper entitled “From Rome to Rome via Brussels: Remarks on the Law Applicable to Contractual Obligations Absent a Choice by the Parties (Art. 4 of the Rome I Regulation)” in German law review (RabelsZ 73 (2009) 750).

Professor Silberman publishes a book entitled “Civil Procedure: Theory and Practice” (with A. Stein and T. Wolff) (3rd ed., 2009).

Professor Ferrari edits a book entitled “The Rome I Regulation. The Law Applicable to Contractual Obligations in Europe” (2009) published in Germany. For more information click here.