• THE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE & LAW REVIEW
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• v.69
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• pp.127-151
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• 2016

UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts(PICC) was published in 1994. PICC has been functioned as a guideline of international commercial contracts, an applicable law to govern a contract by the agreement of the parties to a contract, general principles of law and lex mercatoria. In addition, PICC has a role of interpreting or supplementing international uniform law instruments as well as domestic laws, and also has served as a model for national and international legislations. PICC has been accepted as a authoritative source of knowledge of international trade usages of international commercial contracts to the arbitral tribunal rather than domestic court because it excluded the characteristics of hard law at the drafting stage. This article dealt with the rule on gross disparity of validity which fall outside the scope of UN Convention on Contract for the International Sale of Goods(CISG), which has obtained a leading legal position of uniform law in international sales of good. In other words, PICC suggests a series of meaningful solutions to the issue of gross disparity of contract which is the most complicated among legal disputes occurring during the process of conclusion of contact and also extremely different and diverse between legal systems. This article covered the issue of gross disparity of contract at the conclusion of contact and suggested the legal basis of several rules related to the gross disparity by analysing gross disparity rule of PICC. Furthermore, this article suggested legal check points or implication as well as interpretation and evaluation on doctrine of laesio enormis and undue influence or unconscionability. This article also dealt with a comparative analysis with Principles of European Contract Law(PECL) and Common European Sales Law(CESL) which have important legal positions in the area of international commercial contract as well as in terms of close relationship to PICC by linking with recent court or arbitral tribunal rulings.

• THE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE & LAW REVIEW
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• v.23
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• pp.93-127
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• 2004

A contract is made when both parties have reached agreement, or they are deemed to have. After contract the law recognizes rights and obligations arising from the agreement. In order to discover whether agreement was reached between these two parties, we have to analyse the process of negotiation. Recently The People's Republic of China legislated a New Contract Law, which has come into effect since 1st of October 1999. This Law adapts the rules of United Nations(Vienna) Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods and the Unidroit Principles for International Commercial Contracts. And this law is now widely enforced to commercial transactions between individuals, enterprises or other economic organizations of the People's Republic of China and foreign enterprises. Therefore, the foreigner who wish to make a sales contract with Chinese should understand the rules of New Contract Law of China. According to this New Law only a contract which contain offer and acceptance is valid and binding, and it is also pointed out that terms of contact must be certain. Though an oral contract is usually equivalent to a written one, in a case of commercial transactions written contract with signature is desirable. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the new rules of this Law and the new features of their application to commercial transactions in China.

• The Korean Journal of Air & Space Law and Policy
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.125-162
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• 2007

The Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment and the Protocol to the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment on Matters specific to Aircraft Equipment were adopted on 16 November 2001 at a diplomatic conference held in Cape Town under the joint auspices of UNIDROIT and ICAO. The entry into force of the Cape Town Convention and Protocol have occurred on 1 March 2006. The Cape Town Convention and Protocol provides an international legal regime for the creation, perfection and priority of security, title retention and leasing interests in aircraft equipment, which will be underpinned by an international registry. The purpose of this paper is to explain the objectives and principles of the Cape Town Convention and Protocol, to review the provisions relating to the international interests in aircraft equipment and international registry for their protection under the Cape Town Convention and Protocol, and to discuss the Issues on Korea's accession to the Cape Town Convention and Protocol. As the anticipated results of this paper, it will contribute to facilitate the financing of the acquisition and use of aircraft equipment of high value or particular economic significance in an efficient manner, and to save very large sums of money annually in financing charges, also the international interests in aircraft equipment will be recognized and protected universally.

• The Korean Journal of Air & Space Law and Policy
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• no.spc
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• pp.105-135
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• 2007

The Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment and the Protocol to the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment on Matters specific to Aircraft Equipment were adopted on 16 November 2001 at a diplomatic conference held in Cape Town under the joint auspices of UNIDROIT and ICAO. The entry into force of the Cape Town Convention and Protocol have occurred on 1 March 2006. The Cape Town Convention and Protocol provides an international legal regime for the creation, perfection and priority of security, title retention and leasing interests in aircraft equipment, which will be underpinned by an international registry. The purpose of this paper is to explain the objectives and principles of the Cape Town Convention and Protocol, to review the provisions relating to the international interests in aircraft equipment and international registry for their protection under the Cape Town Convention and Protocol, and to discuss the Issues on Korea's accession to the Cape Town Convention and Protocol. As the anticipated results of this paper, it will contribute to facilitate the financing of the acquisition and use of aircraft equipment of high value or particular economic significance in an efficient manner, and to save very large sums of money annually in financing charges, also the international interests in aircraft equipment will be recognized and protected universally.

• THE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE & LAW REVIEW
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• v.25
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• pp.3-40
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• 2005

Many Korean construction companies have been performing a variety of overseas construction projects since the 1970s. It is unfortunate that in many cases they have had to suffer big losses caused by errors and defects in the design and construction of the projects. In the author's opinion, however, there were losses that could have been avoided if they had understood better the feature and content of the particular construction contract. Few lawyers and scholars in Korea have been interested in the research and study of international construction contracts. This is mainly because they do not have access to practical sources outside of Korea for them to research and study since the contracts undertaken have been dealt with by law firms in other jurisdictions to which the disputes apply. This article is aiming primarily at the introduction of the issues which the practitioners are likely to confront in the process of reviewing and performing the international construction contract. In some cases solutions are sought about these issues based upon the FIDIC standard terms and conditions, the actual experience of practice, and UNIDROIT Principles, etc. It is reasonable to say that all the issues related to the international construction contract cannot be covered in a short article like this. The author wishes this article could induce subsequent studies on international construction contracts for further research. It has to be noted that from time to time Korean construction practices have been compared to the international ones for better understanding. This article mostly includes cases where the Korean construction companies go overseas for their projects, while there are some cases where foreign developers and financial investors participated in domestic projects in which international construction contracts forms were adopted. A few precedent domestic writings about international construction contracts seems to lack emphasis on the points that there are several standard construction contract forms and that they are different. The differences are mainly in accordance with who bears the design responsibility, how the owner has to make progress payments to the contractor and who the funding source for the project is. This article tries to make it clear that there are significant differences between the standard contract forms, e.g. a simple construction form, a design-build form and an EPC/turnkey form of contract. Again, the author hopes that this article can arouse the interest in the international construction contracts from both academic and practical fields, so that many subsequent advanced articles can help our construction industry become much more competitive in the world through awareness of the methods of procurement and administration of the contracts.

• The Korean Journal of Air & Space Law and Policy
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.223-258
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• 2013

1967 Outer Space Treaty(Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies; OST) is a treaty that forms the basis of international space law. OST is based on the 1963 Declaration of Legal Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space announced by UNGA resolution. As of May 2013, 102 countries are states parties to OST, while another 27 have signed the treaty but have not completed ratification. OST explicitly claimed that the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies are the province of all mankind. Art. II of OST states that "outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means", thereby establishing res extra commercium in outer space like high seas. However 1979 Moon Agreement stipulates that "the moon and its natural resources are the Common Heritage of Mankind(CHM)." Because of the number of the parties to the Moon Agreement(13 parties) it does not affect OST. OST also established its specific treaties as a complementary means such as 1968 Rescue Agreement, 1972 Liability Convention, 1975 Registration Convention. OST bars states party to the treaty from placing nuclear weapons or any other weapons of mass destruction in orbit of Earth, installing them on the Moon or any other celestial body, or to otherwise station them in outer space. It exclusively limits the use of the Moon and other celestial bodies to peaceful purposes and expressly prohibits their use for testing weapons of any kind, conducting military maneuvers, or establishing military bases, installations, and fortifications. However OST does not prohibit the placement of conventional weapons in orbit. China and Russia submitted Draft Treaty on the Prevention of the Placement of Weapon in Outer Space and of the Threat or Use of Force against Outer Space Objects(PPWT) on the Conference on Disarmament in 2008. USA disregarded PPWT on the ground that there are no arms race in outer space. OST does not have some articles in relation to current problems such as space debris, mechanisms of the settlement of dispute arising from state activities in outer space in specific way. COPUOS established "UN Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines" based on "IADC Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines" and ILA proposed "International Instrument on the Protection of the Environment from Damage Caused by Space Debris" for space debris problems and Permanent Court of Arbitration(PCA) established "Optional Rules for Arbitration of Disputes Relating to Outer Space Activities" and ILA proposed "1998 Taipei Draft Convention on the Settlement of Space Law Dispute" for the settlement of dispute problems. Although OST has shortcomings in some articles, it is very meaningful in international law in considering the establishment of basic principles governing the activities of States in the exploration and use of outer space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies. OST established the principles governing the activities of states in the exploration and use of outer space as customary law and jus cogens in international law as follows; the exploration and use of outer space shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries and shall be the province of all mankind; outer space shall be free for exploration and use by all States; outer space is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means. The principles of global public interest in outer space imposes international obligations erga omnes applicable to all States. This principles find significant support in legal norms dealing with following points: space activities as the "province of all mankind"; obligation to cooperate; astronauts as envoys of mankind; avoidance of harmful contamination; space activities by States, private entities and intergovernmental organisations; absolute liability for damage cauesd by certain space objects; prohibition of weapons in space and militarization of the celestial bodies; duty of openness and transparency; universal application of the international space regime.