Formation of Contracts for the Sale of Goods

All advanced legal systems, and all bodies concerned with governing international trade transactions, are today struggling with the problems connected with the need to develop acceptable legal rules for contract formation, particularly involving the sale of goods. This article will set forth some of the problems that are inherent in contract formation, and will describe and compare some of the solutions offered (1) by the civil law systems, especially as seen in Japan, Germany, and France; (2) by the common law systems, especially as expressed both in the developing Second Restatement of Contracts and in the Uniform Commercial Code Article on Sales; and (3) by international bodies, especially as seen in the Uniform Law on the Formation of Contracts for the International Sale of Goods