IECL Lunchtime Seminar with Olaf Meyer – The UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts Seen Through the Eyes of an Arbitrator

The IECL Lunchtime Seminar Series offers our Academic Visitors an opportunity to share their research, exchange ideas, and connect with colleagues on both substantive and methodological aspects of their work. 

Each seminar usually lasts 30–45 minutes, with 20–30 minutes for the presentation followed by 10–15 minutes for Q&A. A light sandwich lunch will be provided.

Professor Olaf Meyer
The UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts Seen Through the Eyes of an Arbitrator

Abstract:

They have been described as the “ratio scripta of comparative contract law” and the “Magna Carta of international commercial law.” Yet the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts (UPICC) had to earn this status. When they were first published in 1994, it was far from clear what practical benefits such “Principles” would offer. Some of the expectations initially placed upon them have not been realized. Conversely, other fields of application, although hardly anticipated at the outset, have proved remarkably successful.

This presentation explores the various ways in which the UPICC may be applied, focusing in particular on the perspective of an arbitrator. It analyses the legal framework that has led to arbitration becoming the natural habitat of the UPICC.