OPINION 
on the Final Qualification Work of ANANINA Tatyana,
a student at St. Petersburg State University, level of education – Master, 
main educational program: ВМ.5848.2020  
«Transnational Legal Practice (in English)
“FORCE MAJEURE UNDER THE CISG”

The Final qualification work of Tatyana Ananina is devoted to topical issues relating to Art. 79 of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) – the provision on force majeure – and the possibility of its application to situations when economic sanctions were imposed. In addition to traditional impediments, international trade in the recent years has been exposed to a wave of economic sanctions, which can make contract performance very difficult if not impossible. It is therefore important to understand whether the CISG provision on force majeure also covers economic sanctions, and, if so, under what conditions.  
The author first explains the CISG provisions regulating the formation of a contract and then turns to the analysis of the legal regulation of the application of the CISG and force majeure in several CISG Contracting States. It is worth noting that the author chose for her analysis those countries that have been subject to economic sanctions. Having analysed the aforementioned questions, the author explores whether Article 79 of the CISG applies to economic sanctions. 
The author used numerous academic publications and legal texts, court decisions from different jurisdictions, as well as many arbitral awards. One of the merits of the present work is that it gives the reader an opportunity to compare approaches to the application of the CISG and the concept of force majeure in the sanctioned countries. The idea of the author to focus on sanctioned countries thus deserves high appreciation. 
The author was very interested in the research, she was open to discussion and ready to work on further improvements and developments of the text. The author’s conclusions are original, well-grounded ideas based on independent research. The manuscript flows without gaps in the logic. It is well organized and consistent with legal style. Grammar is correct and there are no typos. Scientific terminology is adequately defined and used.
The Final qualification work of Tatyana Ananina meets all necessary requirements for such papers, can be admitted to the public defence and deserves a highly positive grade.  

24 May 2023
    
Associate Professor, Ph.D.					M.P. Trunk-Fedorova