Law of International Trade: Cross-Border Commercial Transactions

Author: Jason C.T. Chuah

Price: £32.95

Edition: 4th Edition (April 2009)

ISBN: 9781847033444

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Private international trade is big business for commercial lawyers (both contentious and non-contentious).  Its importance to the commercial world is beginning to trickle through to undergraduate courses with more and more institutions offering private international law or shipping law to budding lawyers.  For those students (and practitioners), a clear and coherent summary of the relevant legislative framework and cases is fundamental: Law of International Trade: Cross-Border Commercial Transactions largely provides this.

Written by a leading private international law academic, Jason Chuah's Law of International Trade: Cross-Border Commercial Transactions is separated into fifteen chapters covering topics like terms under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (because many international trade contracts are drafted in and regulated by English law), carriage of goods by sea (both at common law and under the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1971), carriage of goods by air, road and rail and (importantly) marine insurance for cargo.  Chuah also considers choice of law for contractual and non-contractual obligations (an area which has undergone substantial changes in recent times) and civil and commercial jurisdictions.  This is wonderfully comprehensive.

Because Chuah's background is in private international trade law from an English perspective, Law of International Trade: Cross-Border Commercial Transactions is predominantly written from this point of view.  This is not, however, a criticism because to write a text from a multi-jurisdictional view would be a considerable task and would probably turning the text into a multi-volume looseleaf.  By contrast, if the reader is aware of its context and approach, Law of International Trade: Cross-Border Commercial Transactions provides a clear and coherent consideration of the principles in a thought-provoking and accessible way.  It makes excellent use of case extracts, being small enough to maintain the text's superb rhythm but long enough to ensure the reader understands the point being made.

Jason Chuah's Law of International Trade: Cross-Border Commercial Transactions is an indispensible text for anyone interested in, studying or practising in private international trade law.  It is succinctly written with the key points being clearly made.  Chuah's detailed knowledge and understanding of this area of law means he is able to clearly and expertly explain even the most complex issue of international trade law: this is some achievement.  In an area of law notorious for its complexity and requirement for cross-discipline knowledge (including insurance and commercial law), Law of International Trade: Cross-Border Commercial Transactions provides a valuable and extremely welcome flashlight.

Reviewed on 2 August 2009

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