CISG 제79조상의 ‘장애’(impediment)의 법리

Abstract

United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods(hereafter referred to as 'Agreement' or 'CISG') specifies that the immunity should be admitted within the range of CISG Article 79 and all sorts of reliefs in the Agreement in case the seller and the buyer breach the duty taken over following the contract in the relationship between the system of the Law of Benefit Obstacles and the Immunity Regulations. CISG Article 79 on immunity prescribes the requisite of immunity in Clause 1, the responsibility of independent third person in Clause 2, the duration of immunity in Clause 3, the notice duty of debtor in Clause 4 and the effect of immunity in Clause 5. According to CISG Article 79 Clause 1, it prescribes that the responsibility for non-fulfillment should not be born in case of proving that the non-fulfillment should be caused by the impediment out of control, the impediment should exist at the time of contracting, the impediment and evasion or overcoming of consequence should not be expected reasonably. The precedent has a dominant position on that the cancellation of contract on grounds of change of circumstances should not be admitted in the temporary contractual relationship like sales agreements, but not in the previous continual contractual relationship in Korea. In these circumstance, it is noteworthy that the judgement of the Supreme Court sentence No.2004DA31302 on 29th March 2007 specified for the first time that the cancellation of contract on grounds of change of circumstances can be admitted in the temporary contractual relationship like sales agreements. In addition, the debate on the legal principle of impediment, CISG Article 79 Clause 1, should be more necessary, especially it is required to concretize the principle in the relationship with the requisite of immunity considering that the introduction of rules of change of circumstances is in the process of debating in the Civil Law of Japan in recent years.