The seller must deliver the goods, hand over any documents relating to them and transfer the property in the goods, as required by the contract and this Convention. (Article 30)

The seller must deliver the goods, hand over any documents relating to them and transger the property in the goods, as required by the contract and this convention.

Article 30 summarizes the seller's obligations in three: the duty to deliver the goods, the duty to hand over related documents, and the duty to transfer property in the goods. These three duties are those generally judged important, but they do not cover all of the seller's obligations.

First, the duty to deliver the goods is the seller's primary obligation; Articles 31 to 33 govern the content, place and time of delivery. Second, the duty to hand over documents is also one of the seller's obligations, and Article 34 governs the place and time for doing so. Third is the duty to transfer property in the goods; Article 41 addresses defects in title.

Article 31 provides where the seller should deliver the goods if there is no separate agreement on the place of delivery. Because most international transactions involve long-distance shipment, it is very important who bears the cost of shipping the goods and how far. In most cases the place of delivery is set in the contract using Incoterms. Where no such agreement was made in advance, however, the place of delivery is determined under Article 31.

A contract of sale involving carriage of the goods means a case in which an independent third-party carrier other than the two parties is involved. It does not include a case in which the seller or buyer transports the goods from the seller's place of business with its own truck. It means a case in which the seller is obliged to carry or arrange carriage, and the seller's assistants or mere freight forwarders are not carriers. In this case, the seller fulfils its duty to deliver by handing the goods over to the carrier for transmission to the buyer.

This is the case where the two parties are so close that the buyer can take delivery from the seller with its own vehicle, which is uncommon in international trade. Where no third-party carrier is involved, the seller fulfils its duty to deliver by placing the goods at the buyer's disposal at its place of business or where the goods are located, so the buyer can collect them. Where the goods are specific goods, drawn from a specific stock or produced in a specific place and the buyer knows where they are, it is enough to place them at the buyer's disposal there; otherwise, at the seller's place of business. Placing the goods 'at the buyer's disposal' means doing everything necessary for the buyer to take possession of them.

Article 32 sets out the additional duties of a seller who hands the goods over to a carrier.

If the goods are not identified to the contract, the seller must give the buyer notice. Normally the risk of loss passes to the buyer when the goods are handed to the shipping company, but under Article 67(2) the risk does not pass unless the goods are identified by notice. Under Article 27, the dispatch principle applies to this notice, which may be oral or written and must be given by means appropriate to the circumstances.

Where the contract requires the seller to arrange carriage, the seller must choose means of transport appropriate to the circumstances and conclude contracts on the usual terms. Even if the seller is not bound to insure, it must, at the buyer's request, provide all information the buyer needs to take out insurance.

Article 33 governs when the seller must deliver the goods. In most cases the contract will fix a date or period requested by the buyer, so it is enough to comply with that agreement.

Note: The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods was adopted in Vienna in 1980 and entered into force on January 1, 1988. Korea deposited its instrument of accession with the UN Secretary-General on February 17, 2004, and the Convention has applied to Korea since March 1, 2005. It applies to sales of goods between parties whose places of business are in different Contracting States, and the parties may exclude its application by agreement. 'CIGS' in the paper is a misspelling of CISG. Check article numbers against the text of the Convention.