Foreign trade contracts have certain specifics. The main sources of legal regulation include international treaties (conventions, agreements), national legislation, trade customs.
As for the international sources of legal regulation of sales relations, among them an important place belongs to the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of 1980 (Vienna Convention), which has already been mentioned above.
Almost all countries of the world have adopted legislative acts containing norms governing relations on international sales and purchase. For example, in France, Germany, the USA, Switzerland, such norms are contained in Commercial Codes. In the UK, special legislative acts on international sales have been adopted – the British Law on the Sale and Purchase of Goods of 1979 , the Uniform Law on the International Sale of Goods.
In the Republic of Belarus, the main legislative act regulating relations in this area is the Civil Code of the Republic of Belarus. In accordance with Article 155 (paragraph 3) of the Civil Code, in order to conclude a contract, it is necessary to express the agreed will (actions) of two parties (bilateral transaction) or three or more parties (multilateral transaction). The contract is concluded by sending an offer (proposal to conclude a contract) by one of the parties and its acceptance (acceptance of the proposal) by the other party. The contract is considered to be concluded if an agreement is reached between the parties in the form required in the applicable cases on all the essential terms of the contract. The contract is recognized as concluded at the time of receipt by the person who sent the offer, its acceptance (Articles 402, 403, paragraph 1 of the Civil Code). A foreign economic transaction in which at least one of the participants is a legal entity of the Republic of Belarus or a citizen of the Republic of Belarus is made regardless of the place of conclusion in writing (Article 1116, paragraph 3). According to article 404 (2), a contract may be concluded in writing by drawing up a single document signed by the parties and by exchanging documents by postal, telegraphic, teletype, electronic or other communication that makes it possible to reliably establish that the document originates from a party to the contract.
The Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus “On Improving the Procedure for Conducting and Controlling Foreign Trade Operations” defines the main sections and details that a foreign trade contract must contain: the date and place of conclusion of the contract, the subject of the contract, the quantity, quality and price of goods, the terms of calculation and delivery, the responsibility of the parties, the procedure for resolving disputes, the names, legal addresses and bank details of the parties.
An example of the most commonly used trade usages as a source of legal regulation of the contract of sale is the International Rules for the Interpretation of Trade Terms (INCOTERMS), which will be discussed in more detail below.