The Law of Sales in Singapore

• Main Author: HUNTER, Howard
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2017
• Subjects: Sale of Goods Act; Singapore; contracts; United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods; sales; Asian Studies; Commercial Law
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/2287; https://search.library.smu.edu.sg/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=SMU_ALMA2163828180002601&context=L&vid=SMU_NUI&search_scope=Everything&tab=default_tab&lang=en_US
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Trade is a keystone of the Singapore economy, and sales of goods comprise a substantial portion of that trade. Agreements for the sale and purchase of goods are subject to one of two statutes in Singapore. Domestic sales and all consumer sales are governed by the Sale of Goods Act (“SOGA”). International sales between commercial parties, with some exceptions, are subject to the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (“CISG”) so long as both the buyer and seller are from contracting member states of the CISG. Singapore acceded to the CISG in 1996 and the CISG has been domesticated as a statute of Singapore. This short volume is intended to be a handy guide to sales law and to the ways in which the treatment of contracts of sale differ from the common law, whether under SOGA or the CISG. There are some important differences between SOGA and the CISG, and one of the purposes of this book is to provide guidance to lawyers and their clients on whether to “opt out” of the coverage of the CISG (which is easy to do if done properly) in favour of the application of SOGA or the domestic sales law of another country. Particular attention is paid to areas where there are striking differences between the CISG and SOGA or the common law, such as the introduction of parol evidence, the use of foreign precedents and the role of good faith.