Mohammad Taghi Rafie; Amin Taherkhani
Volume 3, Issue 9 , December 2015, , Pages 33-61
Abstract
In international commercial contracts, imposing a time-limit on bringing a legal action through litigation is not only important for the purpose of certainty and protecting parties’ interest, but it is also considered to be essential. Both the Limitation Convention and Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) ...
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In international commercial contracts, imposing a time-limit on bringing a legal action through litigation is not only important for the purpose of certainty and protecting parties’ interest, but it is also considered to be essential. Both the Limitation Convention and Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) establish four year time periods, while DCFR and UNIDROIT 2010 consider three-year time periods. Commencement date of the limitation period plays a significant role in determining this duration. In accordance with provisions of the Convention, the limitation period commences on the date when the claim occurs. In Article 2725 of the UCC, the same criteria are taken into consideration. Hence, in connection with the determination of the commencement date, except in cases where the right to terminate is established, provisions of the UCC are consistent with the Convention. This is why in the UCC, in most cases except for claims arising from fraud, the "discovery rule" to determine the commencement date has been disregarded. By contrast, in UNIDROIT 2010 and DCFR, the "discovery rule" has been applied in all cases. Therefore, except in situations where claims arise from fraud, provisions of the Convention are inconsistent with the two recent instruments.
