A number of international agreements aim to harmonize substantive law. One example is the Vienna Convention on the International Sale of Goods of April 11, 1980 (CISG), which provides a globally applicable, “harmonized” legal framework. These agreements generally eliminate the need for contracting parties from different countries to agree on a national legal system. In practice, using such an agreement is particularly worthwhile when entering into and conducting contract negotiations because it allows contracting parties to create a “tailor-made” legal framework independent of national regulations.

Our lawyers specializing in international, commercial and trade law will thoroughly explain how you can and should leverage the optimization potential of international agreements for the legal protection of cross-border contracts. We will help you select suitable legal instruments and formulate specific contractual clauses tailored to your needs. This allows you to structure and secure your contractual relationships optimally from a legal perspective. Additionally, we develop optimized contract concepts for your company in accordance with German, French, or foreign law to legally secure your business relationships with foreign partners. We work closely with our colleagues from our a-Global partner network to accomplish this.

European law is becoming increasingly important in all areas of commercial law. It enables you to establish consistent structures and processes for your national companies, including foreign subsidiaries, in accordance with EU law. This legal harmonization is essential for structuring your foreign subsidiaries and European sales units uniformly and efficiently, particularly when dealing with business partners outside the EU.

Our lawyers specializing in European law will support you in legally harmonizing your internal processes and designing group-wide corporate policies, guidelines, and sales strategies that comply with EU legal requirements. We verify that all units of your corporate group correctly implement the specific requirements of European legislation and case law. We support you in France, Germany, and other countries in close cooperation with our colleagues from our a-Global partner network.

In practice, it is often difficult for business partners to agree that only the national courts of one contracting party should have jurisdiction over a legal dispute. Understandably, each party prefers to litigate only before the courts of its own country, often due to concerns about being disadvantaged before a foreign court. There are also practical hurdles, such as hiring a foreign lawyer, attending court hearings abroad, and translating all trial documents into the language of the competent national court.

However, the situation is much simpler and more neutral if the parties have agreed to international arbitration. The arbitral tribunal is internationally oriented and often multilingual. It offers the parties maximum flexibility and freedom of procedure. Additionally, compared to a state court judgment, an arbitral award is usually much easier to recognize and enforce abroad, particularly outside the EU.

Our lawyers specializing in international, commercial and trade law, as well as arbitration law will advise you on selecting the appropriate form of arbitration – whether institutional or ad hoc – and recommend the arbitration institution best suited to your needs. We will accompany you throughout the entire proceedings before the arbitral tribunal, whether in France, Germany, or a third country, in close cooperation with our foreign colleagues from our a-Global partner network. This allows us to help you identify procedural risks early on, develop effective defense strategies, and design legally secure solutions for your international projects.