RESERVATIONS VERSUS INTERPRETATIVE DECLARATIONS IN SAUDI ARABIA'S ACCESSION TO CISG

Abstract

Abstract

Saudi Arabia’s accession to the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) in 2023, accompanied by a reservation under Article 92 of the CISG excluding Part III, raises important questions about treaty coherence and legal harmonization in international sales law. Although the reservation appears to have been motivated primarily by concerns about the compatibility of interest-related provisions with Sharia principles, its consequences extend far beyond those provisions. It creates a fragmented regime in which contract formation is governed by the CISG, while performance and remedies remain subject to domestic law. This study adopts a doctrinal and comparative methodology to examine the legal distinction between reservations and interpretative declarations under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT) and evaluate the doctrinal and practical consequences of Saudi Arabia's Article 92 of the CISG reservation. It also assesses the compatibility of the CISG with Sharia principles and determines whether interpretative declarations could more effectively reconcile domestic legal concerns with the Convention's uniformity objectives. In the end, it is established that the reservation introduces doctrinal fragmentation and practical uncertainty in international commercial transactions involving Saudi parties, while interpretative declarations offer a more balanced and legally coherent alternative. The study, therefore, recommends a deliberate shift toward interpretative adaptation, supported by judicial and arbitral practice, as a mechanism for enhancing legal coherence, predictability, and Saudi Arabia's integration into the global commercial legal order.