LES USAGES DU COMMERCE INTERNATIONAL : OU EN SOMMES-NOUS? OU EN SONT-ILS?

Abstract

Few topics involving international contracts have drawn as much attention from legal scholars in recent years as the topic of the trade usages specific to this sector. Although the subject is highly controversial, the debates have mainly focused on theoretical questions concerning whether or not such usages exist. The objective of this paper is not only to synthesize these debates, but also to attempt to draw up an inventory, albeit incomplete, of such usages. Its second purpose is to help legal practitioners grasp the potential major impacts on international trade stakeholders due to the unpredictability resulting from the broad leeway available to judges and arbitrators in their decisions when it comes to trade usages.