Israeli Supreme Court cites work of Franco Ferrari in resolving import-export dispute

An article by Franco Ferrari, Inge Rennert Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law and a professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Verona, was cited in a recently published decision by the Supreme Court of Israel. Ferrari is a scholar of international sales law, international arbitration, and transnational civil litigation. His work has been cited by the supreme courts of Austria, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands. Ferrari is also the designated director of the newly established Center for Transnational Litigation and Commercial Law.
 
The Israeli Supreme Court ruling resolved a dispute over an import/export contract that was subject to the U.N. Sales Convention. The issue the court faced was whether a buyer of defective goods can rely on the lack of conformity to contract specifications, even when more than two years have passed since the delivery of the goods and the buyer has not given any notice of the lack of conformity. In stating that the two-year cut-off period does not apply where the seller intentionally hid the defect from the buyer, the court relied on Professor Ferrari’s writings. Ferrari notes that, with this ruling, “the Israeli Supreme Court has taken a clear stand on an issue that has generated much comment by scholars.”

Posted February 9, 2010