As part of this year’s Faculty Day of the Faculty of Law at the University of Innsbruck, Jeffrey Lee Brüstle, research associate at the Chair for Corporate, Foundation, and Trust Law, received the prestigious Bendura Bank Award 2024 for his master’s thesis, approved in 2021. This award is presented annually by the Faculty of Law in cooperation with Bendura Bank AG to recognize and promote outstanding master’s theses in business law.

The ceremonial award ceremony took place on November 29, 2024, in the grand hall of the University of Innsbruck. Jeffrey Lee Brüstle, LL.B. LL.M. LL.M., had the honor of briefly presenting his thesis entitled “Interpretative Issues of the CISG” to a professional audience. The award was then formally presented by Univ.-Prof. Dr. Walter Obwexer, Dean of the Faculty of Law, and Dr. Markus Federspiel, CEO of Bendura Bank AG.

“The Bendura Bank Award encourages students of the Master’s Program in Business Law to write theses that provide valuable insights both for academia and legal practice. My thesis is particularly aimed at practitioners, discussing on the one hand the methods of interpretation under the CISG and on the other, addressing the issue of the so-called ‘homeward trend’ of national courts,” explained Jeffrey Lee Brüstle.

The CISG (United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods) is considered the most significant unification treaty in private international law to date. It has been ratified by 97 countries—including the Principality of Liechtenstein—and provides substantive law for cross-border sales contracts. To achieve as global a scope as possible, some substantive weaknesses had to be accepted as part of a harmonized compromise. As a result, the CISG frequently uses vague legal terms such as “reasonable” or “appropriate.” The autonomous interpretation of these terms presents considerable challenges for national courts of the contracting states, particularly the Austrian Supreme Court.