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| Abstract | ||||||||||||||||||
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| A seller from Singapore and an Australian company (buyer) entered into a contract for the sale of a contact lenses solution, expressly stating that the goods had to be sterile and manufactured according to the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).
A dispute arose between the parties when the buyer refused to pay the price alleging the lack of conformity of the goods: upon examination by the TGA the goods were found to be contaminated with bacteria and therefore not sterile. The Court first held that since CISG prevailed over the provisions of the Sales of Goods Act of 1895, the contract was governed by CISG (Art. 1(1)(a) CISG). As to the merits, the Court made express reference to Arts. 35 and 45 CISG holding that, by virtue of Art. 45, the buyer could rely on both Art. 50 in order to obtain the price reduction and on Art. 74 in order to claim damages for breach of contract. For this reason the Court ordered that the purchase price claimed by the seller be reduced to zero; furthermore the Court held that the buyer was entitled to damages for breach of contract (and for negligence) and to interest. |