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| Abstract | ||||||||||||||||||
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| An Austrian buyer and a Chinese seller entered into a contract for the purchase of scaffold fittings. After delivery of the goods the buyer discovered serious defects and declared the contract avoided. The buyer claimed damages suffered because it had been able to resell only part of the goods at a lower price.
The sole arbitrator held that the contract was governed by CISG, since the parties had their places of business in two different Contracting States (Art. 1(1)(a) CISG), and the fact that the buyer had conducted part of the negotiations through its liaison office situated in the seller's country was of no relevance in this respect. In view of the fundamental character of the breach by the seller the buyer was entitled to avoid the contract (Art. 49(1) CISG). The seller was not entitled to remedy by supplying substitute goods in accordance with Art. 48(1) CISG, since in the opinion of the sole arbitrator the seller's right to cure after the date for delivery is dependent on the consent of the buyer. As to the rate of interest the sole arbitrator applied the bank lending rate paid by the buyer. |