G. Gregory Letterman – författare

Although customs and tariffs operate from a national perspective, it is the overarching international structure of classification, valuation, etc. that is imposed upon the national schemes that provide international customs and tariffs with a comprehensible global consistency whose understanding is of great importance for those dealing in international commerce. It is this global scheme of customs and tariffs laws and practices that the author describes so thoroughly and well. Having mapped out for the reader that global scheme, he then describes the many types of variances and exemptions from the global scheme that must be understood as well. Basic Guide to International Customs and Tariffs provides a highly readable description of its subject and a unique global perspective not encountered in other books dealing with the same topic. Published under the Transnational Publishers imprint.

In the law of contracts, the term ''internationalization'' has come to mean the removal of transactions from any nation''s legal standards, system of dispute resolution, or commercial practices. The benefits include avoidance of choice-of-law and venue deadlocks, use of clearly-defined terms (sometimes specialized for a particular industry) that have attained general international usage, and escape from the jurisdiction of unacceptable laws, legal systems, and courts. The trend has picked up speed in recent years, to the point where many business people want their contracts ''internationalized'' as a matter of course.

This convenient volume contains the heart of the matter. It focuses on the essential elements that make a contract ''international'' in the new sense, and the interrelationships between those elements, rather than on the constantly changing mass of attendant detail. It provides a clear understanding of the principles that underlie the structure of a sound international commercial contract, and gives the practitioner the insight necessary to negotiate such a contract successfully, whatever the particular circumstances.

To clarify such an understanding of ''internationalization,'' the author describes and analyzes aspects of the following international contract law regimes:

* The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG);* The UNIDROIT Principles;* CISG and UNIDROIT Jurisprudence;* Thelex mercatoria and other international, regional, and national contract law principles;* Privately established rules, standards, and certifications;* Model contracts, provisions, and standards; and* International commercial arbitration regimes and other non-national dispute resolution fora.

A final chapter deals exclusively with practical applications - when to and when not to ''internationalize'' a contract, how to plan for effectiveness and the best advantage, and selecting appropriate and consistent devices for ''internationalization.''