In a pioneering world, a glance to the past never goes amiss. The present issue of the ICC International Court of Arbitration Bulletin returns after a number of years to two topics which deserve renewed attention.

Contracts of sale and purchase were the subject of almost a fifth of cases registered with the ICC Court in 1999. This alone justifies our return to a major instrument of uniform law: the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (Vienna Convention). We publish in these pages extracts from a considerable number of recent, previously unpublished awards. As illustrations of the way in which the Vienna Convention has been applied in ICC arbitral practice, they offer lessons from which it is hoped that both practitioners and scholars will be able to draw benefit. We are honoured to be able to publish at the same time two studies by recognized specialists in the field. Hans van Houtte's article is the fruit of his analysis of some 23 ICC awards, including all those published in this issue. Encompassing both applicability and substantive application, it looks at the various aspects of the Convention that have arisen in recent ICC arbitral practice. Claude Witz focuses on a specific aspect of the Convention that has led to several disputes - the time allowed for the buyer to give notice of non-conformities - and in so doing refers to both judicial and arbitral decisions. In the field of international sales, arbitral case law has indeed a significant part to play. The point was made by Jean-Paul Béraudo in his article published in the Bulletin in 1994 when the Vienna Convention was in force in 39 states. With the number of states now standing a third higher, this is even more the case today.

We continue our country-based approach by also offering in this issue of the Bulletin an article on arbitration in Venezuelan law, following the adoption in 1998 of Venezuela's first statute devoted specifically to arbitration. We are grateful to James O. Rodner, ICC Court member for Venezuela, for updating his earlier presentation of arbitration in Venezuela in the 1997 Special Supplement to the Bulletin. Once again, present-day advances are shown to be indebted to past achievements, in this particular case the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration and the lead taken by Venezuela's neighbour, Colombia.

To turn finally to the future, readers will also be able to read about new developments at the Court Secretariat and notably those relating to electronic communication. It is a pleasure to be able to announce the launch of the Court's French-language web pages.

Horacio A. Grigera Naón

Secretary General

ICC International Court of Arbitration