UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts: A Powerful Instrument that Unites rather than Further Divides

Tomasz Tomczak

doi:10.25167/fj.5890

Published: 2025-07-29

Vol. 2 (2025)

UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts: A Powerful Instrument that Unites rather than Further Divides

Tomasz Tomczak

FORTHEM Journal

Section: Essays

https://doi.org/10.25167/fj.5890

Abstract

The UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts have been in commercial use for over 30 years. This article aims to examine this instrument from a broader perspective, demonstrating why it is an extraordinary legal tool that seems to be gaining in importance in an increasingly divided world. This study analyses these principles from the perspective of their international character, their drafters, and their content. It is then demonstrated why this instrument has the potential to build, within the framework of international cooperation, one rational voice regarding their interpretation.

This article employs the dogmatic-legal method. The primary objective of this research approach is to analyze the character of the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts and their background. The aim is to determine whether these principles are indeed an outstanding soft-law international instrument that can still be of seminal importance in today's world.

Keywords:

international commercial contracts, commercial contracts, The UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts, UPICC, soft law, international instruments of soft law

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Tomczak, T. (2025). UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts: A Powerful Instrument that Unites rather than Further Divides. FORTHEM Journal, 2. https://doi.org/10.25167/fj.5890

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