International Business Law Coursework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

International Business Law Coursework - Essay Example In the current scenario, we are told that the agreed shipping documents were tendered, which would indicate a prima facie obligation of Sweet plc to make payment in respect of the August consignment. The contract between Sweet plc and the Seller is an international sale of goods contract and we are not told which law is applicable. Although the UK is not currently a signatory to the Vienna Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG), Poland is a signatory4 and as the seller is based in Poland, the parties may have adopted the CISG by agreement. However, this analysis will advise on the basis of English law being applicable, with comparisons with the CISG position where relevant. The fundamental feature of a CIF contract is that once a seller has shipped the goods, they have â€Å"performed† the contract by tendering conforming documents to the buyer5. Indeed, it was described in the case of Hindley v E India Produce Co. Limited6 as â€Å"a contract for sale of the goods performed by delivery of documents†7. As such, the CIF contract imposes duality of obligations on the seller to deliver the goods and deliver the documents. The documentary obligations require the seller to procure and submit to the buyer the exact documents stipulated in the contract8. Furthermore, in the case of The Julia9, Lord Porter asserted that in the absence of a provision in the contract to the contrary, the documents provided should include a bill of lading, an insurance policy and an invoice. Under English law, a CIF contract entitles buyers to reject a tender of shipping documents on grounds of the document being â€Å"defective† or alternatively, where they are tendered late10. With regard to the current scenario, the documents were not tendered late. With regard to the definition of â€Å"defective†, various scenarios have addressed this, including a non-genuine bill of lading11, a bill of lading failing to provide