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The parties are free to enter into a contract and to determine its content.
The principle of freedom of contract is of paramount importance in the context of international trade. The right of business people to decide freely to whom they will offer their goods or services and by whom they wish to be supplied, as well as the possibility for them freely to agree on the terms of individual transactions, are the cornerstones of an open, market-oriented and competitive international economic order.
There are of course a number of possible exceptions to the principle laid down in the present article. As concerns the freedom to conclude contracts with any other person, there are economic sectors which States may decide in the public interest to exclude from open competition. In such cases the goods or services in question can only be requested from the one available supplier, which will usually be a public body, and which may or may not be under a duty to conclude a contract with whoever makes a request, within the limits of the availability of the goods or services.
With respect to the freedom to determine the content of the contract, in the first instance the Principles themselves contain provisions from which the parties may not derogate. See Art. 1.5.
Moreover, there are both public and private law rules of mandatory character enacted by States (e.g. anti-trust, exchange control or price laws; laws imposing special liability regimes or prohibiting grossly unfair contract terms, etc.), which may prevail over the rules contained in the Principles. See Art. 1.4.
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"Treaties": international trade instruments
Private International Commercial Law
International Commercial Arbitration & other dispute settlement
International Tax & Financial Regulation
Carriage Transport & Maritime Law
Electronic Commerce and Encryption
International Criminal Law including Anti-Corruption and Cross Border Crime
International Life Sciences & Bio-Sciences