Case number: 80
Article number: sales convention / 57(1)(a); 58
Thessaurs issue:
Country of decision: Germany
Year of decision: 1994
Type of decision: Judicial decision

Case 80: CISG 57(1)(a); 58
Germany: Kammergericht Berlin; 2 U 7418/92 24 January 1994
Published in German: Recht der Internationalen Wirtschaft (RIW) 1994, 683

The plaintiff, the Italian assignee of the claim of the Italian seller for payment of the purchase price, sued the buyer, a German
company, demanding payment. At issue was whether payment was due in German mark, as initially demanded by the seller, or
in Italian lira, as agreed in the contract.

The court found that the CISG was applicable as the law of the country where the seller had its place of business. It was held
that the application of the CISG could be excluded only if that was the actual and not the hypothetical intention of the parties.
With regard to the validity of the assignment, the court applied other Italian law since the CISG did not address assignment.

The court held that, even if the parties had not agreed that payment should be made in Italian lira, the price would still be
payable in Italian lira since the place of payment would be the place of business of the Italian seller (CISG 57(1)(a)). In
addition, the court held that interest was payable from the time the purchase price became due, even if no notice was given
(CISG 58).