LEGAL REGIME OF BUYER’S LIABILITY UNDER THE VIENNA CONVENTION AND THE LAW ON OBLIGATIONS OF THE FEDERATION OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Abstract

The sale contract is the most important contract in both domestic and international sale of goods. On the basis of the contract of sale the parties have certain rights and obligations. Consequently, the seller must deliver the goods, hand over documents relating to the goods and transfer the ownership of the goods, and the buyer must pay the price and take delivery. Both sellers and buyers are responsible for their duties. Failure to enforce these obligations creates a liability of the debtor. Theoretical research of the rules governing the contractual responsibility is very important, because when one of the parties of the sale violates its contractual obligations there may arise complex legal and economic issues. This paper is the result of analyzing the provisions of the Vienna Convention on contracts for the international sale of goods in 1980 and the Law on Obligations of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina regulating the responsibility of the buyer in international contracts of sale of goods. This paper will primarily determine the scope of aplication of the provisions of buyer’s liability from Article 53 to 60 of the Vienna Convention, then the conditions of existence liability, as well as exemptions from liability provided for by the Convention. These solutions will then be compared with the rules of the Law on Obligations of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.