CIF买卖合同中卖方卸港到货责任研究——英国法下的判例冲突与实务协调

Study on seller's delivery obligation at discharge port under CIF contracts—case conflicts and practice accommodation under English law

在传统CIF买卖合同中,根据Incoterms对CIF术语的解析,卖方对货物到达卸港不负有义务和责任,这种商业惯例在英国法下有相关判决予以支持。随着国际贸易的多元化、合同内容的复杂化和全球石油交易的发展,英国法下逐渐出现了不同的判例,认定卖方在CIF买卖合同下负有到港责任。在部分判例与Incoterms规定不一致甚至不同案例之间存在冲突的背景下,订立合同时应首先力求语言清晰,责任义务明确;当CIF合同语言含混不清时,可结合商业常识、商业背景和交易信息来解释合同,最终判定卖方是否对货物到港承担责任。

According to Incoterms, the seller is literally not responsible for arrival of goods at the discharge port under classic CIF contracts. Such commercial practices were supported by some cases under English laws. However, the diversity of international business, complexity of contracts and development of global oil trade give rise to some cases under English laws with different interpretation that the seller should be responsible for arrival of goods at the discharge port under the CIF contract. Given the inconsistence between Incoterms and some cases or even conflicts among cases, it is firstly proposed to conclude the contract with explicit language clarifying obligations and liabilities of each party. In case of ambiguous terms, CIF contracts could be interpreted by referring to business common sense, commercial context and trading information for the final purpose of determining whether the seller is responsible for delivering goods at the discharge port.