Data

Date:
06-11-2013
Country:
France
Number:
1 A 11/03748
Court:
Cour d'appel de Colmar
Parties:
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Keywords

TWO-YEAR TIME LIMIT PROVIDED FOR BY ART. 39 CISG - IT IS A TIME LIMIT FOR NOTICE OF LACK OF CONFORMITY AND NOT A TIME LIMIT TO BRING ACTION AGAINST THE OTHER PARTY

LIMITATION PERIOD (PRESCRIPTION) - MATTER EXCLUDED FROM CISG (ART. 7(2)) - DOMESTIC LAW APPLICABLE UNDER THE RULES OF PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW

Abstract

CLOUT Case n.1507. Abstract prepared by Claude Witz and Aurélie Swiderek.

A company based in France carried out paving work for a French manufacturer. Faced with proceedings under article 1792 of the French Civil Code regarding its liability as builder, the company called on the German paving stones supplier as guarantor. The German supplier claimed that the action was time-barred under the German Civil Code.
The Court of Appeal of Colmar stated that “the invoked provisions of article 39(2) of the Convention do not define the time limit after which an action may not be brought but only the time limit for giving notice of the lack of conformity” and relied to that effect on a judgement of the Court of Cassation (see Court of Cassation, France, 3 February 2009, in Unilex).

The Court then referred to article 7 of the Convention and applied the rules of private international law, in this case the Hague Convention on the Law Applicable to International Sales of Goods of 15 June 1955, which then led it to German law.

The Court applied article 477 of the German Civil Code and declared the proceedings brought by the buyer of the paving stones to be time-barred

Fulltext

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Source

Original in French:
- available at CISG-France website, www.cisg-france.org}}