Withdrawal and Revocation of Offer and Acceptance: A Comparative Study of the CISG, the Chinese Contract Law, the Unidroit Principles and the Ethiopian Contract Law (2024)

See all articles by Wakgari Djigsa

Wakgari Djigsa

Independent

Abstract

Principally speaking, a contract is said to be concluded at the time when and the place where the offeree declares the assent to be bound by the proposal of the offeror. Determining the appropriate time of conclusion of a contract is nevertheless not as easy as it may seem at a first glance. This problem is exacerbated by the freedom of individuals to withdraw or revoke their proposals of concluding a contract.

The regulation of withdrawal and revocation of offer and acceptance plays a vital role not only in determining the time of conclusion of a contract but also in maintaining smooth transactions among individuals. This, in turn, helps the parties in minimizing transaction costs. So far, no consensus is reached among legal instruments concerning this critical issue. Different jurisprudences approached the matter from their perspectives thereby making the process of harmonization hardly possible.

This short essay is aimed at critically examining the differences existing among legal instruments with respect to withdrawal and revocation of offer and acceptance. To contextualize the concepts, a glimpse will be made to some theoretical frameworks. Throughout, I will make a brief comparison among the United Nations Convention on International Sale of Goods, the Chinese Contract Law, the UNIDROIT Principles and the Ethiopian Contract Law.