CISG 제44조상의 ‘합리적 이유’의 해석에 관한 연구

A Study on the Interpretation of a Reasonable Excuse in Article 44 CISG

The Purpose of this paper is to understand the concept of the reasonableness and to discuss the issues related to the interpretation of 'the reasonable excuse' at Article 44 in order to promote the uniformity of the application of the Article 44 CISG. Due to its inclusion in a later stage of the Diplomatic Conference, Article 44 is not well integrated with the other notice requirements and has attracted considerable criticism. Despite this criticism, Art. 44 has proven to be a valuable tool for taking into account the particular situation of each specific buyer and has not led to confusion in practice. Reasonableness is specifically mentioned in thirty-seven provisions of the CISG. Reasonableness is a general principle of the CISG. But there is no definition of reasonableness in the CISG. What is the meaning of reasonable excuse? First, when interpreting the concept of reasonable excuse, a court should not be guided by dogmatic concepts of its own law. Second, in order to establish whether or not there is an excuse for the purpose of Art. 44, it is necessary to reach a decision that is equitable in the circumstances. Third, It is noted that legislative history of the Art. 44 CISG gives us some essential clues necessary to reach a correct interpretation of this article.