Commercial Practice  

The Commission on Commercial Law and Practice facilitates international trade and promotes a balanced self-regulatory and regulatory legal framework for international business-to-business (B2B) transactions by:

• setting global business rules and standards that companies apply to millions of international B2B transactions every day;
• creating model contracts that facilitate trade between countries in all stages of development and between companies of all sizes and sectors;
• addressing the legal issues that arise from the increasing use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in international business;
• providing leadership for the development of B2B self-regulation for an increasingly globalised market place;
• working actively with intergovernmental organisations and, when appropriate, national governments to help shape an enabling legal and regulatory framework.

The Commission is responsible for ICC Incoterms, the standard trade terms such as FOB and CIF that have been smoothing the way for exporters and importers since 1936. Officially endorsed by the UN and available in many languages, these international terms are updated continually in response to changing patterns in trade and transport.

Projects for 2006

• Develop ICC Mergers and Acquisitions Model Contract (Business Asset Agreement).
• Develop ICC Model Trademark Licensing Contract.
• Develop ICC Technology Transfer Model Contract.
• Develop an ICC position on electronic invoicing and continue to work closely with UN/CEFACT on electronic invoicing issues.
• Influence key international jurisdiction and applicable law initiatives, including Rome I and Rome II, to ensure they reflect the view of business.

Key products

• Existing Products:
  ICC Incoterms 2000
  ICC Guide to Incoterms 2000
  ICC Force Majeure Clause 2003
  ICC Hardship Clause 2003
  ICC Model International Sale Contract
  ICC Model Commercial Agency Contract
  ICC Model Distributorship Contract (sole importer-distributor)
  ICC Short Form Agency & Distributorship Model Contracts
  ICC International Franchising Contract
  ICC Model Occasional Intermediary Contract
  ICC Model Turnkey Supply of an Industrial Plant Contract
  ICC Mergers and Acquisitions Model Contracts I – Shares Purchase Agreement
  
  
• Key Business Advocacy Efforts
  UNCITRAL – Electronic Contracting
  Hague Conference – Hague Judgment Project
  The European Commission Harmonisation of European Contract Law
  The European Commission – Revision of the Rome Convention
  UN/CEFACT – E-Invoicing
  UN/CEFACT – Unified Business Agreements and Contracts

• Chair: Fabio Bortolotti, Professor, University of Turin (Italy)


• Vice-Chairs: Jan Ramberg, Professor, University of Stockholm (Sweden); Charles Debattista, Professor of Commercial Law, Institute of Maritime Law, University of Southampton (UK)


• E-Business Rapporteur: Christiaan van der Valk, Vice President, Tekki AB (Sweden)


• Secretary: Emily O’Connor, ICC

Task Forces

• Mergers and Acquisitions
  Chair: Professor Fabio Bortolotti, Professor, University of Turin (Italy)
• Turnkey Transactions
  Co-Chairs: Professor Fabio Bortolotti; Robert Knutson, RobertKnutson.com (UK)
• Agency and Distributorship
  Co-Chairs: Professor Fabio Bortolotti; Didier Ferrier, Université de Montpellier I (France)
• Incoterms
  Chair: Professor Charles Debattista, Professor of Commercial Law, Institute of Maritime
  Law, University of Southampton (UK)
• Trademark Licensing
  Chair: Professor Fabio Bortolotti
• Electronic Contracting
  Co-Chairs: Professor Charles Debattista; Chistopher Kuner, Hunton & Williams, Belgium (Brussels)
• Jurisdiction and Applicable Law
  Co-Chairs: Stefan Bernhard, Linklaters Lagerlöf (Sweden); Michael Hancock, Salans (France)
• Confidentiality Agreements
  Co-Chairs: Åke Nilson, Marinade (UK); Filip de Ly, Professor of Law, Erasmus University (Netherlands)
  Rapporteur: John Bezant, BAE Systems (UK)
• Technology Transfer
  Chair: Professor Fabio Bortolotti
• Global Sourcing Contracts
  Chair: Michael Hancock