Title

IV.6.9 - Duty to notify / to cooperate

Content

No. IV.6.9 - Duty to notify / to cooperate

(a) Each party is under a good faith obligation to notify in a timely fashion the other party of any problems that occur in the performance of the contract and of any other facts or circumstances on whose knowledge the other party is discernibly dependent, provided that such information can reasonably be expected from that party.

(b) Each party is under a good faith obligation to cooperate with the other party when such cooperation can reasonably be expected for the performance of that party's obligations.

Commentary

1 This Principle is a direct consequence of the general Principle of good faith. The parties must accept that a contract is not merely a meeting point of conflicting interests, but also, to a certain and varying extent, a common project in which each party must cooperate with the other side. The intensity of the duty to notify and, in particular, the duty to cooperate, depends on the nature of the contract, the professional sophistication of the parties and, in particular, on whether one is dealing with a long-term or one-off contract.

2 The goal of the duty to cooperate in international contracts is to promote and advance contractual performance, to show sincere efforts to further the contractual relationship and to achieve its goals and to refrain from any conduct that would obstruct the contract's implementation, even if these actions are contrary to a party's immediate short term interests. This duty is not without limits. It exists only within the confines of the legitimate expectations of the parties and the standard of reasonableness.

References

Doctrine

Benedick, Die Informationationspflichten im UN-Kaufrecht (CISG) und ihre Verletzung, 2008Berger, Klaus Peter, The Creeping Codification of the Lex Mercatoria, The Hague, London, Boston 1999Berger, Klaus Peter, The Creeping Codification of the New Lex Mercatoriam 2nd. ed. 2010Bernardini, Piero, Is the Duty to Cooperate in Long-term Contracts a Substantive Transnational Rule in International Commercial Arbitration?, in: Gaillard (ed.), Transnational Rules in International Commercial Arbitration (ICC Publ. Nr. 480,4), Paris 1993, at 137 et seq.Blessing, Marc, Das neue internationale Schiedsgerichtsrecht der Schweiz - Ein Fortschritt oder ein Rückschritt?, in: Böckstiegel (ed.), Die internationale Schiedsgerichtsbarkeit in der Schweiz (II), Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Munich 1989, at 13 et seq.Braeckmans, H., Paralegale Normen En Lex Mercatoria, 23 TvPr. 1986, at 1 et seq.Bucher, Andreas, Die neue internationale Schiedsgerichtsbarkeit in der Schweiz, Basel, Frankfurt a.M. 1989Dasser, Felix, Internationale Schiedsgerichte und Lex Mercatoria, Zürich 1989Delaume, Georges, Law And Practice of Transnational Contracts, New York, London, Rome 1988Derains, Yves, note to ICC Award No. 5030, Clunet 1993, at 1012 et seq.Domingo, Ortega, Rodriguez-Antolin, Zambrana, Principios de Derecho Global, Navarra, 2006Ferrari, Franco, Das Verhältnis zwischen den Unidroit-Grundsätzen und den allgemeinen Grundsätzen internationaler Einheitsprivatrechtskonventionen, JZ 1998, at 9 et seq.Fouchard Gaillard Goldman on International Commercial Arbitration (edited by Emmanuel Gaillard and John Savage) The Hague 1999Herber, Rolf/ Czerwenka, Beate, Internationales Kaufrecht, Munich 1991Horn, Norbert, Procedures of Contract Adaptation and Renegotiation in International Commerce, in: Horn (ed.), Adaptation and Renegotiation of Contracts in International Trade and Finance, Antwerp, Boston, London, Frankfurt a.M. 1985, at 173 et seq.Loquin, La réalité des usages du commerce international, RIDéco 1989, at 163 et seq.Lorfing, Pascale Accaoui, The contractually unforeseen renegotiation, 2010 International Business Law Journal 35 et seq.Magnus, Ulrich, Die allgemeinen Grundsätze im UN-Kaufrecht, 59 RabelsZ 1995, at 469 et seq.Michaelis de Vasconcellos, Harald, Garantieklauseln und Risikoverteilung im internationalen Anlagenvertrag, 1st ed., Heidelberg 1988Müller, Georg, Vorvertragliche und vertragliche Informationspflichten nach englischem und deutschem Recht, Heidelberg 1994Nassar, Nagla, Sanctity of Contracts Revisited, Dordrecht, Boston, London 1995Neumann, Thomas, The Duty to Cooperate in International Sales - The Scope and Role of Article 80 CISG (2012), p. 110 et seq.Osman, Filali, Les Principes Généraux de la Lex Mercatoria, Paris 1992Schlechtriem, Peter (ed.), English Commentary on the UN Convention on the International Sale of Goods (CISG), Comment on Art. 7 by Rolf Herber, Oxford 1998

Model Laws

Code Européen des Contrats - European Contract Code

National Legislation

Contract Law of the People's Republic of ChinaEthiopian Civil Code

International Legislation

Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of other States (ICSID Convention)Fontaine, Marcel, OHADA Uniform Act On Contract Law Preliminary DraftUnited Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG)

Model Terms

FIDIC 1999 Conditions of Contract for Construction (Red, Yellow, Silver)UNECE-General Conditions for the Supply of Plant and Machinery for Export.

Arbitral Awards

ICC Award No 17106, note by Éduardo Silva-Romero, Clunet 2018ICC Award No. 12045, Clunet 2006, 1434 et seq. ICC Award No. 12073, YCA 2008, 63 et seq.ICC Award No. 2478 IN 1974, YCA 1978, at 222 et seq. (also published in: Clunet 1975, at 925 et seq.).ICC Award No. 3779, YCA 1984, at 124 et seq.ICC Award No. 4761, Clunet 1987, at 1012 et seq.ICC Award No. 5030, Clunet 1993, at 1004 et seq.ICC Award No. 9593, ICC Bull. 10/No. 2 (1999), at 107 et seq.ICC Award No.2216, Clunet 1975, at 917 et seq.ICSID Award of October 21, 1983, Klöckner v. Republic of Cameroon, Clunet 1984, at 409 et seq. (also published in: ICSID Rep. 1994, 9 et seq.; J.Int‘l Arb. 1984, 145 et seq.; YCA 1985, 71 et seq.)

Principles / Restatements

Principles of European Contract Law - PECLPrinciples of the Existing EC Contract Law (Acquis Principles)UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts 2016

Contract Clauses

1. Contractual Duty to CooperateEmployment Contract