Wine Law

382 WINE LAW Finally, it is crucial to establish the duration of the contract, considering that if it is a fixed term, the contract can only be terminated early due to serious breaches, unless otherwise provided for in the contractual clauses. In contrast, in the case of indefinite duration, the contract can be terminated even unjustifiably, at any time, unless there is an obligation to comply with an agreed notice or, in the absence thereof, a reasonable notice. For the resolution of disputes arising from supplies, as well as from the distribution relationship, it will then be appropriate to provide in the contract a clause of choice of applicable law and of the competent court (or arbitration), as seen in the previous paragraph. 6. LEGAL FRAMEWORK WITHIN EUROPE In the case of domestic sales, the reference legislation will be the Civil Code, with the peculiarities of the various Member States 16 . Whereas for intra-EU sales, there are some applicable rules contained in Directive 1999/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 May 1999 on certain aspects of the sale of consumer goods and associated guarantees. This Directive will be repealed, inter alia , with effect from January 2022, by Directive (EU) 2019/771 17 , which, according to recital 1, aims “to improve the functioning of the internal market” and to respond to “the multiple challenges posed today by an increasingly technology-driven economy”, which includes the web. Accordingly, the Digital Single Market Strategy sets out a comprehensive framework to facilitate the integration of the digital dimension into the internal market. Its first pillar concerns the fragmentation of intra-EU trade by addressing all major obstacles to the development of cross-border electro- technical trade, which accounts for the most significant share of cross-border sales of goods between businesses and consumers. The use of the international contract is useful to prevent disputes with international partners and define in advance the “rules of the game” of both parties. Thus, in general, international sales and trade are governed, in many 16 A few years ears ago, there was the idea of building a European contract law to promote the free movement of goods, protect consumers, increase confidence in the Community market. Accordingly, see O. C ALLIANO , A Critical First Glance at the Common European Sales Law Project by the Digital Consumer Law Approach , in L. M OCCIA , The Making of European Private Law: Why, How, What, Who, Selliers european law publishers , Munich, 2013, pp. 217-219. 17 Directive (EU) 2019/771 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2019 on certain aspects of contracts for the sale of goods, amending Regulation (EU) 2017/2394 and Directive 2009/22/EC, and repealing Directive 1999/44/EC.