The Brazilian Presidency issued on, 16/10/2014, the Decree No. 8.327 promulgating the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods of 11/04/2014, drafted by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).
The inclusion of referred Convention in the Brazilian legal system had been previously approved by the Brazilian Congress by means of the Legislative Decree no. 538 of October 18th, 2012.
The Brazilian government deposited the instrument of adhesion to the Convention on March 4th, 2013, whose Convention is in force in Brazil, within the external legal plan, since April 1st, 2014.
The Convention proposes, as one of its regulatory pillars, mechanisms for unification of international contracts for the sale of goods, as well as the standardization of rules to be applied to the contracts seeking to avoid jurisdictional conflicts and affording a greater efficiency in the global trade.
As one of the main advantages, we can cite a greater legal certainty in commercial transactions between the parties, since the standardization will prevent eventual conflicts arising out of diverging interpretations of contractual provisions, resulting in the elimination of barriers between differentiated legal systems, facilitating and ensuring the effectiveness of the international trade.
Moreover, the standardization of the trade regulation will also bring economic benefits, generating lower costs in international transactions, fostering the large-scale international trade, particularly considering that the countries that adhered to the Convention are responsible for the largest part of the world trade volume.
In addition to global scale benefits, Brazil will particularly benefit from covenants and agreements entered into with Latin American countries, since the legislative standardization may stimulate business transactions among these countries, especially with those that are not Mercosur members.
Notwithstanding the advantages introduced by the Convention, it should be highlighted that the new legislation will not be applicable to sales agreement of vessels, taking into account an express prohibition stipulated in article 2, subitem "e" of the Convention.
The Decree takes effect on the date of its publication.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
