On April 16 and 17, The Dickson Poon School of Law hosted a major commercial law conference on ‘Unity and Diversity in the Law of the International Sale of Goods’. The conference explored the nature of governance of sales of goods contracts in the modern world, particularly in the international and comparative contexts.

The central theme of the conference concerned two competing forces within the sale of goods law: those leading to disintegration of sources governing sales contracts, on the one hand, and those pushing towards uniformity, consolidation and standardisation, on the other.

The conference also examined the extent to which the traditional approach that treats sales law as one consolidated body of law continues to shape the ways in which sales contracts are governed and disputes arising from them are resolved around the world. From this perspective, the conference addressed some of the most topical and challenging issues in the law of the sale of goods.

This conference was also the first of its kind, bringing together leading legal and industry practitioners, judges, arbitrators and legal academics from around the world. Lord Clarke, a former judge of the UK Supreme Court, was the keynote speaker. The conference programme is available here.

“The conference generated highly stimulating discussions and insights, advancing the international legal community’s understanding of the complexity of governance of sales transactions in the modern world,” said Professor Djakhongir Saidov, the conference’s organiser. “The resulting findings, arguments and conclusions are relevant not just to sales contracts, but to commercial contracts more generally. They are also of value regardless of one’s jurisdiction or legal system.”