The UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts and ...

THE UNIDROIT PRINCIPLES AND MERCOSUR COUNTRIES 383
Bearing this in mind, our investigative effort, essentially
pragmatic, shall aim at examining the applicability of the Principles
in the MERCOSUR countries. To that end, we shall first consider, for
each of the ME R C O S U R m e m b e r-countries, their rules of private
i n t e rnational law on the choice-of-law autonomy and their
respective arbitration laws (I). Subsequently, we shall approach the
applicability of the Principles taking into account the various
contexts in which they can be used (II) and, finally, as a closing
chapter, we shall bring forward our conclusions (III).
I. Introductory Remarks: the MERCOSUR
Countries’ Private International Law Systems
and the Rules Applicable to International
Contracts, Choice-of-Law Autonomy and
Arbitration
A. The UNIDROIT Principles and the Choice-of-Law Autonomy
in Private International Law
The Principles, as seen above, address four basic purposes 10 :
a) Legislative model for the States that wish to enact modern
laws on international trade contracts;
b) A drafting guide of international contracts;
c) Applicable law chosen by the parties in an intern a t i o n a l
transaction; and
d) N o rmative re f e rence for arbitrators or domestic judges in
disputes involving international contracts.
Taking into account the Principles’ transnational character, the
effectiveness of their application arises most often from the parties’
choice directed towards that purpose, which is expressed on the
basis of the principle of choice-of-law autonomy, applicable in
contractual matters.
10 Michael Joachim BONELL, “The UN I D R O I T Principles of International Commerc i a l
Contracts – General Presentation”, in The UNIDROIT Principles: A Common Law of
Contracts for the Americas?, Acts of the Inter-American Congress (November
1996), Valencia (Venezuela), UNIDROIT, 1998, p. 22-27.