The application of legal usages to international private contractual relationships

The article discusses the piculiarities of the application of legal usages to international private contractual relationships. It has been concluded that in some countries the parties of the dispute, which is subject to international commecial arbitration proceeding, are admitted to have the opportunity to choose non-state legal rules (including usages) to the substance of dispute. In other countries the arbitrators have a right to apply non-state legal rules even if there is no agreement between the parties concerning this issue, and if the parties have not authorised arbitral tribunal to decide the dispute as amiable compositeur. In Switzerland and Germany the parties of arbitration agreement can choose as a law, applicable to the subject of a dispute, only the law of a particalar state. The same relates to the arbitrators, who settle a dispute in the absence of the parties agreement of applicable law. In these countries the international commercial arbitration can refer to the non-states rules (including usages), if the parties of a dispute habe authorized the arbitral tribunal to decide the dispute ex aequo et bono. According to United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods the parties are bound by any usage to which they have agreed and by any practices which they have established between themselves (Art. 9(1)). The parties are considered, unless otherwise agreed, to have impliedly made applicable to their contract or its formation a usage of which the parties knew or ought to have known and which in international trade is widely known to, and regularly observed by, parties to contracts of the type involved in the particular trade concerned (Art. 9 (2)).There is no requirements to the usages adreed by the parties (as opposed to the usages, applicable according to art. 9 (2) of the Convention). As a result, it is considered that the parties may agree to apply national usage. It is considered that the pratice between the parties has been formed when their relationships lasts for some time and that they led to the conclusion of various contracts. The features of the practice binding the contractual parties are certain duration and frequency. The usages, subject to application according to art. 1.9. (2) of Principles UNIDROIT, have the following characteristics: 1) they are widely known and regularly observed in the particular trade; 2) they are observed in international trade.