Originally from:
Remedies for International Sellers of Goods - 2nd Edition - Looseleaf
Remedies for International Sellers of Goods - 2nd Edition - Electronic
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Introduction
Estonia is known as one of the most modernised civil law countries in Europe.
After regaining its independence in 1991, rapid restructuring of the economy in
the spirit of liberalism and reform of the entire private law system began.1
Instead of using the old laws or drafts from the first independence era, Estonia
decided to use legal transplants and took after harmonised European private
law.2 Therefore, the Law of Obligations Act, adopted on 28 September 2001 and
entering into force on 1 July 2002, has been influenced by several international
instruments and foreign legal acts. Most influential were the Principles of
European Contract Law, the Principles of International Commercial Contracts
(the “UNIDROIT principles”), and the 1980 Convention on Contracts for the
International Sale of Goods.
In addition, the civil laws of European countries, e.g., German Civil Code, the
Swiss Code of Obligations, and the civil codes of Austria and The Netherlands,3
were taken after in drafting the Law of Obligations Act. Today, Estonia belongs
to the group of countries with German legal tradition. There is a codified civil
law system with the classical books of the Civil Code4 adopted by the Estonian
Parliament (Riigikogu) as separate legal acts.
The regulation applicable to the contract of sale is mainly implemented in the
special part (11th chapter) of the Law of Obligations Act.5 Issues regarding the
concept of contract of sale, obligations deriving from it, liability matters,
conformity of goods, and consequences of a lack of conformity of goods are
regulated by the Act. Additionally, the chapter includes provisions for specific
contracts of sale, such as sale with reservation of title of ownership, sale on
Estonia
Introduction
Interpretation of the Sales Contract
Express Terms
Missing Terms
Writings
Good Faith
Course of Dealing, Trade Usage, Course of Performance
Assignment and Delegation
Void and Voidable Contracts
Modification and Unilateral Termination
Risk of Loss
Warranties
Remedies Available to Buyer
Remedies Available to Seller
Letters of Credit
Vienna Convention for the International Sale of Goods
Application
Ability to Contract Out
Choice of Law
Maria Pihlak and Urmas Volens - Law Firm Sorainen, Tallinn, Estonia
