The Governing Council of UNIDROIT at its 90th session formally adopted on 10 May 2011 the third edition of the Principles of International Commercial Contracts (“UNIDROIT Principles 2010”).

The UNIDROIT Principles 2010 contain new provisions on restitution, illegality, plurality of obligors and obligees, and conditions, while with respect to the text of the 2004 edition the only significant changes made relate to the Comments to Article 1.4.

The new edition of the UNIDROIT Principles consists of 211 Articles (as opposed to the 120 Articles of the 1994 edition and the 185 Articles of the 2004 edition) structured as follows: Preamble (unchanged); Chapter 1: General provisions (unchanged); Chapter 2, Section 1: Formation (unchanged), Section 2: Authority of agents (unchanged); Chapter 3, Section 1: General provisions (containing former Articles 3.1 (amended), 3.2, 3.3 and 3.19 (amended)), Section 2: Ground for avoidance (containing former Articles 3.4 to 3.16, 3.17 (amended), 3.18 and 3.20, and a new Article 3.2.15), Section 3: Illegality (new); Chapter 4: Interpretation (unchanged); Chapter 5, Section 1: Content (unchanged), Section 2: Third Party Rights (unchanged), Section 3: Conditions (new); Chapter 6, Section 1: Performance in general (unchanged), Section 2: Hardship (unchanged); Chapter 7, Section 1: Non-performance in general (unchanged), Section 2: Right to performance (unchanged), Section 3: Termination (containing former Articles 7.3.1 to 7.3.5, 7.3.6 (amended) and a new Article 7.3.7), Section 4: Damages (unchanged); Chapter 8: Set-off (unchanged); Chapter 9, Section 1: Assignment of rights (unchanged), Section 2: Transfer of obligations (unchanged), Section 3: Assignment of contracts (unchanged); Chapter 10: Limitation periods (unchanged); Chapter 11, Section 1: Plurality of obligors (new), Section 2: Plurality of obligees (new).