Ratifying the Vienna Convention on International Sales of Goods (CISG) by Sri Lanka

Regarding the law of sale of goods, the discussion about the necessity of uniform law that can bring the whole world to one place has been going on since time immemorial. In this situation, various efforts were made over several decades to introduce one new law to the whole world. As a result of this, in 1964, Two Conventions on the international sale of goods were born and named Uniform Law for the International Sale of Goods(ULIS) and the Uniform Law on the Formation of Contracts(ULF). But on the failure of these conventions to meet expectations, Along with the criticism of these Conventions, experts worked hard for a new collective law. The most successful result of these efforts is the creation of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) in 1980. However, there are different views and considerations by countries on the ratification of this Convention into their domestic legal systems. Nevertheless, this Convention has been ratified by 96 countries around the world. The Sale of Good Ordinance of 1896 was introduced to Sri Lanka as a copy of the UK Sale goods Act during the British colonial period. However, although the United Kingdom’s Sale of Goods Act has undergone various amendments due to the need of the times, Sri Lanka is still stuck in the old Ordinance. Therefore, it is essential to amend the legal system for the sale of goods in Sri Lanka. A key step in this regard is to consider ratifying the CISG. This research aims to consider why Sri Lanka should sign the CISG. On the other hand, With the ratification of the Convention and the introduction of a new Act for international trade Vietnam was able to lift many of its trading barriers and as a result of that its economy was opened up. The legal system of a country is a significant contributor to its economy. It is not always true that a strong legal system assures a booming economy, but it is hard to find such a solid economy without a strong legal system. Sri Lanka as a nation can further enhance the legal support in international business by cooperating uniform set of laws among our trading parties.