General Conditions of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance

the norms worked out by the leading organs of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) to provide uniform legal regulation of relations between the economic organizations of member countries. They deal with all major questions that arise in the course of foreign trade deliveries and the provision of related services.

The most important among the general conditions of COMECON are the General Conditions of Delivery of 1968 (effective as of Jan. 1, 1969), the General Conditions for Installation and Other Technical Services of 1973 (effective as of Jan. 1, 1974), and the General Conditions for the Technical Servicing of Machinery, Equipment, and Other Products of 1973 (effective as of Jan. 1, 1974). These enactments, appropriately ratified by the countries involved, constitute multilateral international agreements, with their provisions reflected in the national legislation of each state that is party to the agreement.

According to the Basic Principles of Civil Legislation of the USSR and Union Republics, in all questions regarding foreign trade operations that are resolved differently under the general conditions of COMECON and under Soviet civil law, the general conditions of COMECON shall have precedence. These conditions are mandatory and are applicable whether or not the parties to a transaction have referred to them in an actual contract. Departures from the provisions of the general conditions of COMECON are permitted only in specifically provided instances. In questions not settled by the general conditions, the national legislation of the supplier country shall apply.

The general conditions of COMECON help ensure the equality of all contracting parties and the stability of contract conditions in all foreign trade conducted among organizations in member countries.