The Use of the UNIDROIT Principles in Order to Interpret or Supplement National Contract Law

The article reproduces the Italian National Report to the XX General Congress of the International Academy of Comparative Law - Académie international de droit comparé, held in Fukuoka, Japan, in 2018. It analyses the application of the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts by Italian courts and Arbitrators applying Italian law for the purpose of interpreting or supplementing the applicable domestic law. The Authors first consider the normative framework (Italian sources of law), then focus on existing case law referring to the UNIDROIT Principles, in order to determine emerging trends, and finally compare some of the salient provisions of the Principles with Italian domestic law.