Article 42 of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods: The equilibrium lying under a cryptic provision

Article 42 of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) provides the warranty of title against third parties’ intellectual property rights and claims. It embodies an articulated mechanism, encrypting deep concepts through the use of a generic language and stimulating the interpreters to maintain various positions on each of its figures. This contribution aims at illustrating the opinions which surround the most-discussed aspects of this provision, focusing on the existence of a claim, whether frivolous claims are part of the definition of ‘claim’ under Article 42 CISG and, finally, the seller and the buyer’s knowledge and constructive knowledge. The result of the analysis is the detection of a hidden equilibrium between the seller and the buyer’s duty of diligence lying under an (apparently) ambiguous provision.