EXEMPTION FROM LIABILTY FOR THE THIRD PERSONS UNDER THE CISG

Konvencija Združenih narodov o pogodbah o mednarodni prodaji blaga (CISG), kot temeljni pravni vir na področju mednarodne prodaje, je namenjena urejanju pravnih razmerij med kupci in prodajalci iz različnih držav. Področje, ki ga CISG ureja, obsega tudi odškodninske obveznosti, do katerih pride v primeru kršitve pogodbenih obveznosti katere izmed strank prodajne pogodbe. Za odškodninske obveznosti v CISG velja stroga ureditev. Stranka, ki krši svoje obveznosti, se namreč lahko oprosti odškodninske odgovornosti le v primerih, ko izpolnjuje natanko določene oprostitvene razloge. In sicer mora dokazati, da je do njene kršitve prišlo zaradi ovire izven njene kontrole, ki je ob sklenitvi pogodbe ni bilo mogoče predvideti ter se oviri ali njenim posledicam ni bilo mogoče izogniti ali jih premostiti. O tem, ali je oprostitvenim pogojem zadoščeno, bo v pretežni meri odvisno od okoliščin posameznega primera, a primeri iz pravne prakse kažejo, da je oprostitev zelo težko doseči, še posebej zato, ker morajo biti izpolnjeni vsi navedeni pogoji. Stroga ureditev odgovornosti za povzročeno škodo velja tudi v primerih, ko stranka ne izpolni obveznosti zaradi dejanj tretje osebe, katero je angažirala z namenom izpolnitve svojih obveznosti nasproti sopogodbeniku. V takšnih primerih CISG določa, da morata pogoje za oprostitev izpolniti tako stranka prodajne pogodbe, kot tudi tretja oseba. Vendar to ne velja za vse primere ko neizpolnitev povzroči tretja oseba. Ta določba se uporabi le za tiste neodvisne osebe, ki so vključene z namenom izpolnitve celote ali dela strankinih obveznosti, ne pa tudi takrat kadar dejanja tretje osebe predstavljajo le predpogoj ali pomoč pri izpolnitvi strankinih obveznosti. V vsakem primeru pa velja načelo, da naj stranka strogo odgovarja za dejanja tretjih oseb, ki na takšen ali drugačen način sodelujejo pri njenih obveznostih.United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG), as fundamental legal source in international sales, primarily governs the relationships between sellers and buyers from different countries. The sphere governed by the CISG also includes claims for damages, arising out of non-performance of contractual obligations by one of the parties. The CISG is based on a strict liability. The party who fails to perform his obligations can only be exempt from liability, if he meets the specific prerequisites. He must prove that his failure to perform was due to an impediment beyond his control and that he could not reasonably been expected to have taken the impediment into account at the time of the conclusion of the contract or to have avoided or overcome the impediment or its consequences. Whether these requirements are fulfilled will depend on the circumstances of an individual case. However, the decisions of courts and arbitral tribunals indicate that it is very difficult to achieve exemption, mainly due to the fact that all above-stated requirements must be met. Strict liability for damage caused also applies to cases where a party’s failure is due to the failure by a third person, whom he has engaged to perform the whole or part of the contract. In such cases the requirements for exemption must be met both by the party and the third person. However, this is not the case every time a party’s failure is due to the failure by a third person. This provision is only applicable to those independent third persons engaged to perform party’s obligations toward the other party. It is not applicable to cases, where third persons merely create preconditions or assist with promisor’s performance. In any event, the party should in principle be held liable for the actions of third person with whom he collaborates