The Extent of Contractual Freedom of Contracting Parties to Determine the Content of Their Contracts Under Unidroit Principles

Unidroit İlkeleri Çerçevesinde Tarafların Sözleşme İçeriğini Belirleme Özgürlüğünün Kapsamı

Selin GÖK

The principle of contractual freedom is one of the most fundamental corner stones of private law. However, all modern law systems have imposed some restrictions in order freedom of contract to be exercised in legitimate and fair grounds. Besides, as a natural result of the acquisition of cross border dimension of commerce, globalisation process brought the need to create a common law especially in private law area, as well as any other fields. One of the most significant fruits of these attempts is the UNIDROT principles which are constituted to uniform the rules of substantial laws with regard to international commercial contracts. In this essay, it will be attempted to evaluate the extent of the contractual freedom of the parties who contract international commercial agreements and the limitations brought to this freedom under UNIDROIT principles.

Freedom of Contract, UNIDROIT, Public Policy, Commercial Transactions

Sözleşme özgürlüğü ilkesi özel hukukun en temel yapıtaşlarındandır. Ancak sözleşme özgürlüğünün meşru ve hakkaniyete uygun bir zeminde kullanılabilmesi için tüm çağdaş hukuk düzenleri bu özgürlüğe bazı sınırlamalar getirmiştir. Bununla beraber ticaretin sınırlar ötesi bir boyut kazanmasının doğal bir sonucu olarak her alanda olduğu gibi hukukta da globalleşme süreci özellikle özel hukuk alanında ortak bir hukuk yaratma çabasını beraberinde getirmiştir. Bu çabaların en büyük ve önemli meyvelerinden bir tanesi de uluslararası sözleşmelere ilişkin maddi hukuk kurallarının yeknesak hale getirilmesi amacıyla oluşturulan UNIDROIT ilkeleridir. Bu çalışma ile uluslararası bir ticari sözleşme akdeden tarafların akdettikleri sözleşmenin hükümlerine karar verme özgürlüğünün kapsamı ve bu getirilen sınırlamalar UNIDROIT ilkelerince ele alınacak ve irdelenecektir.

Sözleşme Özgürlüğü, UNIDROIT, Kamu Düzeni, Tcari İlişkiler

Introduction

Freedom of parties to determine the structure and the content of their contracts and create their own legal obligations is a deeply rooted concept in the context of international trade as it shall be deemed as the underpinning of an open, free and competitive market. With this regard, International Institute for the Unification of Private Law UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts 2010¹ (UNIDROIT principles), which set forth general rules for international commercial contracts, has also granted a remarkably wide area of contractual freedom to the contracting parties concluding international commercial transactions. However, there are some limitations on the freedom of contracting parties’ autonomy which may induce the provisions that contracted by the parties being invalid or unenforceable. The aim of this paper is to consider the extent of contractual freedom of contracting parties to determine the content of their contracts specifically under UNIDROIT principles and mostly in the sense of private international law rules and examine the rules for contractual interpretation arising under UNIDROIT principles. This paper first analyse the application of UNIDROIT principles if expressly chosen in their contracts by the parties as it is considerably connected to the issue of party autonomy, second, consider the concept of contractual freedom and the limitations to it under UNIDROIT principles, it will then go on to examine the issue and its extent by considering the relevant rules of private international law and mandatory national law and European Union law and finally the rules for interpretation of contracts under UNIDROIT principles will be reviewed.

1. Application of UNIDROIT principles as the applicable law chosen by parties and the respective rules of the private international law

Prior to considering the concept of contractual freedom of the contracting parties in terms of determining the content of their contract and the rules for contractual interpretation for international commercial contracts under the UNIDROIT principles, it shall be deemed appropriate to examine whether and in what circumstances the UNIDROIT principles supersede national law and private international law rules in the event that the parties expressly choose it as the rules of law governing their contract. As Heidemann points out the issue, “Party autonomy allowing a choice of law governing the contract is granted by almost every jurisdiction, however; it is disputed as to what extent transnational law rules can be stipulated to be governing law, to the exclusion of domestic law.”²

Despite the principles being applied in the absence of a choice of law or as a demonstration of general principles and lex mercatoria referred in the contract, the following sections of this paper will examine the applicability of the principles by the arbitral tribunals and domestic courts as the rules of law governing the contract where the UNIDROIT principles are expressly chosen by the parties in their international commercial contracts. Since both the ability of the parties to select UNIDROIT principles as the governing law of their contract and whether or not this would be a valid choice according to the relevant rules of private international law, shall be considered under the concept of freedom of contract.