Abstract

The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (hereinafter the “CISG” or “Convention”) came into effect in 1988 and is arguably one of the most successful private law conventions of all times. The drafters of the CISG have tried to create a flexible and technology-neutral law that is able to adapt to new circumstances. But what about the latest digital developments such as smart contracts and cryptocurrencies, which have the potential to revolutionize international trade? Can you still teach an old dog like the CISG (which dates from 1980) new tricks or does the emergence of smart contracts and cryptocurrencies ultimately leads to unsolvable problems for the Convention? From the numerous possible problems to be discussed in this context, the article focuses on three of them, namely (1) the payment with cryptocurrencies under the CISG, (2) the sales of cryptocurrencies under the CISG, and eventually (3) the possible lack of discernibility of consumer sales contracts and the element of internationality of the contract due to smart contracting.