Abstract This article argues that the rule of contra proferentem is not applicable to international sales contracts governed by the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). It further argues that the common recognition of the rule of contra proferentem under the CISG is an instance of a broader phenomenon which it calls ‘internationality overreach’. ‘Internationality overreach’ is the tendency to project onto the provisions of a uniform private law instrument doctrines and concepts which are inaccurately presumed to constitute universally recognised principles of private law or the ‘common core’ of various legal systems. This article demonstrates that internationality overreach disrupts the goals underpinning the harmonisation of commercial law in two ways: first, it undermines uniformity in the application of international conventions; and, second, it leads to outcomes that fall short of the agreement reached by the Contracting States during the drafting process. While this article focuses on the CISG, the argument developed in this article is of equal relevance to other uniform private law conventions which follow the principle of autonomous interpretation.
Katarzyna Kryla-Cudna (Tue,) studied this question.