Terms & conditions

1. These Terms

1.1 What these terms cover. These are the terms and conditions on which we supply publications to you, whether these are books or digital content.

1.2 Are you a business customer or a consumer? In some areas you will have different rights under these terms depending on whether you are a business or consumer and in that case we will make it clear which parts of these terms apply. You are a consumer if:

(a) You are an individual.

(b) you are buying publications from us wholly or mainly for your personal use (not for use in connection with your trade, business, craft or profession).

1.3 If you are a business customer this is our entire agreement with you. If you are a business customer these terms constitute the entire agreement between us in relation to your purchase. You acknowledge that you have not relief on any statement, promise, representation, assurance or warranty made or given by or on behalf of us which is not set out in these terms and that you shall have no claim for innocent or negligent misrepresentation or negligent misstatement based on any statement in this agreement.

2. Information about us and how to contact us

2.1 Who we are.

Universal Rights Group is an independent think tank with Headquarters in Switzerland at Maison de la Paix, Chemin Eugène-Rigot 2E, Building 5 CH-1202, Geneva.

2.2 How to contact us if you are a consumer.

You can contact us by telephone on +41 22 555 0960 or by writing to us at [email protected] or at Maison de la Paix, Chemin Eugène-Rigot 2E, Building 5 CH-1202, Geneva.

If you are emailing us or writing to us please include details of your order to help us to identify it.

2.3 How we may contact you. If we have to contact you we will do so by telephone or by writing to you at the email address or postal address you provided to us in your order.

2.4 “Writing” includes emails. When we use the words “writing” or “written” in these terms, this includes emails.

3. Your order

3.1 How we will accept your order. Our acceptance of your order will take place when we email you to accept it, at which point a contract will come into existence between you and us.

3.2 If we cannot accept your order. If we are unable to accept your order, we will inform you of this in writing and will not charge you for the product. This might be because the product is out of stock, because of unexpected limits on our resources which we could not reasonably plan for, because a credit reference we have obtained for you does not meet our minimum requirements, because we have identified an error in the price or description of the product or because we are unable to meet a delivery deadline you have specified.

3.3 Availability of publications. Where we have limited stock of a particular publication, we may place a limit on the number of copies that you can order. Where we are aware of this, we will notify you prior to an order being made. Whether or not we have notified you before you have placed an order, if we have insufficient stock to deliver some of the publications ordered by you, or where you have ordered or sought to order publications in excess of any quantity limits we have imposed, we will notify you as soon as possible of which parts of your order we will accept and which we will reject.

3.4 Your order number. We will assign an order number to your order and tell you what it is when we accept your order. It will help us if you can tell us the order number whenever you contact us about your order.

4. Our rights to make changes

4.1 Minor changes to the publications. We may change the publication:

(a) to reflect changes in relevant laws and regulatory requirements; and

(b) to implement minor technical adjustments and improvements, for example to address a security threat. These changes will not affect your use of the product.

4.2 Updates to digital content. We may update or require you to update digital content, provided that the digital content shall always match the description of it that we provided to you before you bought it.

5. Providing the publications

5.1 Delivery costs. The costs of delivery will be as displayed to you on our website.

5.2 When we will provide the publications. During the order process we will let you know when we will provide the publications to you. If the publications are subscriptions, we will also tell you during the order process when and how you can end the contract.

5.3 We are not responsible for delays outside our control. If our supply of the publications is delayed by an event outside our control, for example when the publication date of a pre-ordered book is delayed, we will contact you as soon as possible to let you know and we will take steps to minimise the effect of the delay. Provided we do this we will not be liable for delays caused by the event, but if there is a risk of substantial delay you may contact us to end the contract and receive a refund for any publications you have paid for but not received.

5.4 Customs Charges. Your publications may be subject to import duties and taxes, which are levied once the publications reach the country of destination. Any such charges levied in relation to customs clearance must be borne by you. It is accepted by you that Universal Rights Group has no control over additional charges in relation to customs clearance. We would recommend that you check if any importation taxes/duties may be applicable to your online order prior to placing it on our website. Please note that we are not responsible for any delays in customs clearance if, for example, publications are not released as customs charges have not been paid.

5.5 If you are not at home when the publication is delivered. If no one is available at your address to take delivery and the publications cannot be delivered you will be informed by the local delivery company, courier or postal service of how you can rearrange delivery.

5.6 If you do not re-arrange delivery. If after a failed delivery to you, you do not re-arrange delivery or collect your publications from a delivery depot we will contact you for further instructions and may charge you for storage costs and any further delivery costs. If, despite our reasonable efforts, we are unable to contact you or re-arrange delivery or collection we may end the contract and clause 8.2 will apply.

5.7 When you become responsible for the publications. The risk to the publications will pass to you on completion of delivery to the address you gave us.

5.8 When you own the publications. You own the publications once we have received payment in full.

5.9 What will happen if you do not give required information to us. We may need certain information from you so that we can supply the publications to you, for example, your delivery address details. If so, this will have been stated in the description of the publications on our website. We will contact you to ask for this information. If you do not give us this information within a reasonable time of us asking for it, or if you give us incomplete or incorrect information, we may either end the contract (and clause 8.2 will apply) or make an additional charge of a reasonable sum to compensate us for any extra work that is required as a result. We will not be responsible for supplying the publications late or not supplying any part of them if this is caused by you not giving us the information we need within a reasonable time of us asking for it.

5.10 Reasons we may suspend the supply of publications to you. We may have to suspend the supply of a publication to:

(a) deal with technical problems or make minor technical changes;

(b) update the product to reflect changes in relevant laws and regulatory requirements;

6. Your rights to end the contract

6.1 You can always end your contract with us. Your rights when you end the contract will depend on what you have bought, whether there is anything wrong with it, how we are performing and when you decide to end the contract and whether you are a consumer or business customer:

(a) If what you have bought is faulty or misdescribed you may have a legal right to end the contract (or to get the publication replaced or to get some or all of your money back);

(b) If you want to end the contract because of something we have done or have told you we are going to do, see clause 6.2;

(c) If you are a consumer and have just changed your mind about the publications, see clause 6.3. You may be able to get a refund if you are within the cooling-off period, but this may be subject to deductions and you will have to pay the costs of return of any publications;

(d) In all other cases (if we are not at fault and you are not a consumer exercising your right to change your mind), see clause 6.6.

6.2 Ending the contract because of something we have done or are going to do. If you are ending a contract for a reason set out at (a) to (e) below the contract will end immediately and we will refund you in full for any publications which have not been provided and you may also be entitled to compensation. The reasons are:

(a) we have told you about an upcoming change to the publication or these terms which you do not agree to (see clause 4);

(b) we have told you about an error in the price or description of the publication you have ordered and you do not wish to proceed;

(d) we have suspended supply of the publications for technical reasons, or notify you we are going to suspend them for technical reasons, in each case for a period of more than three months; or

(e) you have a legal right to end the contract because of something we have done wrong.

6.3 Exercising your right to change your mind if you are a consumer. If you are a consumer then for most publications bought online you have a legal right to change your mind within 14 days and receive a refund.

6.4 How long do consumers have to change their minds? If you are a consumer how long you have depends on what you have ordered and how it is delivered.

(a) Have you bought digital content for download or streaming (for example, eBooks)?

(i) If so, you have 14 days after the day we email you to confirm we accept your order, or, if earlier, until you start downloading or streaming.

(ii) However, if we delivered the digital content to you immediately or you have already started to download the digital content, you will not have a right to change your mind.

(b) Have you bought physical goods (for example, books)? If so you have 14 days after the day you (or someone you nominate) receives the physical goods, unless your physical goods are split into several deliveries over different days. In this case you have until 14 days after the day you (or someone you nominate) receive the last delivery to change your mind about the physical goods.

6.5 Ending the contract where we are not at fault and there is no right to change your mind. Even if we are not at fault and you are not a consumer who has a right to change their mind (see clause 6.1), you can still end the contract before it is completed, but you may have to pay us compensation. A contract for publications or digital content is completed when the product is delivered, downloaded or streamed and paid for. If you want to end a contract before it is completed where we are not at fault and you are not a consumer who has changed their mind, just contact us to let us know. The contract will end immediately and we will refund any sums paid by you for publications not provided but we may deduct from that refund (or, if you have not made an advance payment, charge you) as compensation for the net costs we will incur as a result of your ending the contract.

7. How to end the contract with us (including if you are a consumer who has changed their mind)

7.1 Tell us you want to end the contract. To end the contract with us, please let us know by doing one of the following: (a) Phone or email. You can contact us by telephone on +41 22 555 0960 or by writing to us at [email protected]
Please provide your name, home address, details of the order and, where available, your phone number and email address.

7.2 Returning publications after ending the contract. If you end the contract for any reason after publications have been dispatched to you or you have received them, you must return them to us. You must post the publications back to us:

Returns must be sent to Maison de la Paix, Chemin Eugène-Rigot 2E, Building 5 CH-1202, Geneva. If you are exercising your right to change your mind you must send off the publications within 14 days of telling us you wish to end the contract.

7.3 When we will pay the costs of return.

We will pay the costs of return:

(a) if the publications are faulty or misdescribed;

(b) if you are ending the contract because we have told you of an upcoming change to the product or these terms, an error in pricing or description, a delay in delivery due to events outside our control or because you have a legal right to do so as a result of something we have done wrong; or

In all other circumstances you must pay the costs of return.

7.4 How we will refund you. We will refund you the price you paid for the publications including delivery costs, by the method you used for payment. However, we may make deductions from the price, as described below.

7.5 Deductions from refunds if you are a consumer exercising your right to change your mind.

If you are exercising your right to change your mind:

(a) We may reduce your refund of the price (excluding delivery costs) to reflect any reduction in the value of the publications, if this has been caused by your handling them in a way which would not be permitted in a shop. If we refund you the price paid before we are able to inspect the publications and later discover you have handled them in an unacceptable way, you must pay us an appropriate amount.

(b) The maximum refund for delivery costs will be the costs of delivery by the least expensive delivery method we offer.
For example, if we offer delivery of a product within 3-5 days at one cost but you choose to have the product delivered within 24 hours at a higher cost, then we will only refund what you would have paid for the cheaper delivery option.

7.6 When your refund will be made. We will make any refunds due to you as soon as possible.
If you are a consumer exercising your right to change your mind then:

(a) Your refund will be made within 14 days from the day on which we receive the publication back from you or, if earlier, the day on which you provide us with evidence that you have sent the publications back to us. For information about how to return a publication to us, see clause 7.2.

(b) In all other cases, your refund will be made within 14 days of your telling us you have changed your mind

8. Our rights to end the contract

8.1 We may end the contract if you break it. We may end the contract for publications at any time by writing to you if:

(a) you do not make any payment to us when it is due and you still do not make payment within 14 days of us reminding you that payment is due;

(b) you do not, within a reasonable time of us asking for it, provide us with information that is necessary for us to provide the publications; or

8.2 You must compensate us if you break the contract. If we end the contract in the situations set out in clause 8.1 we will refund any money you have paid in advance for publications we have not provided but we may deduct or charge you reasonable compensation for the net costs we will incur as a result of your breaking the contract.

8.3 We may withdraw the publications. We may write to you to let you know that we are going to stop providing the publications. We will let you know at least one month in advance of our stopping the supply of the publications and will refund any sums you have paid in advance for publications which will not be provided.

9. If there is a problem with the publications

9.1 How to tell us about problems. If you have any questions or complaints about the publications, please contact us.

You can contact us by telephone on +41 22 555 0960 or by writing to us at [email protected]

10. Price and payment

10.1 Where to find the price for the publication. The price of the publication (which unless indicated otherwise is exclusive of VAT) will be the price indicated on the order pages when you placed your order. We use our best efforts to ensure that the price of the publication advised to you is correct. However please see Clause 10.3 for what happens if we discover an error in the price of the product you order.

10.2 We will pass on changes in the rate of VAT. If the rate of VAT changes between your order date and the date we supply the publication, we will adjust the rate of VAT that you pay, unless you have already paid for the publication in full before the change in the rate of VAT takes effect.

10.3 What happens if we got the price wrong. It is always possible that, despite our best efforts, some of the publications we sell may be incorrectly priced. We will normally check prices before accepting your order so that, where the publication’s correct price at your order date is less than our stated price at your order date, we will charge the lower amount. If the publication’s correct price at your order date is higher than the price stated to you, we will contact you for your instructions before we accept your order. If we accept and process your order where a pricing error is obvious and unmistakeable and could reasonably have been recognised by you as a mispricing, we may end the contract, refund you any sums you have paid and require the return of any publications provided to you.

10.4 Our right of set-off if you are a business customer. If you are a business customer you must pay all amounts due to us under these terms in full without any set-off, counterclaim, deduction or withholding (other than any deduction or withholding of tax as required by law).

10.5 We can charge interest if you pay late. If you do not make any payment to us by the due date we may charge interest to you on the overdue amount at the rate of 2% a year above the base lending rate of Barclays Bank Plc’s base rate from time to time. This interest shall accrue on a daily basis from the due date until the date of actual payment of the overdue amount, whether before or after judgment. You must pay us interest together with any overdue amount.

11. Our responsibility for loss or damage suffered by you if you are a consumer

11.1 We are responsible to you for foreseeable loss and damage caused by us. If we fail to comply with these terms, we are responsible for loss or damage you suffer that is a foreseeable result of our breaking this contract or our failing to use reasonable care and skill, but we are not responsible for any loss or damage that is not foreseeable. Loss or damage is foreseeable if either it is obvious that it will happen or if, at the time the contract was made, both we and you knew it might happen, for example, if you discussed it with us during the sales process.

11.2 We do not exclude or limit in any way our liability to you where it would be unlawful to do so. This includes liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence or the negligence of our employees, agents or subcontractors; for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; including the right to receive publications which are: as described and match information we provided to you and any sample or model seen or examined by you; of satisfactory quality; fit for any particular purpose made known to us; supplied with reasonable skill and care and for defective publications under the Consumer Protection Act 1987.

11.3 When we are liable for damage caused by defective digital content. If defective digital content which we have supplied damages a device or digital content belonging to you and this is caused by our failure to use reasonable care and skill we will either repair the damage or pay you compensation.

12. Our responsibility for loss or damage suffered by you if you are a business

12.1 Nothing in these terms shall limit or exclude our liability for:

(a) Death or personal injury caused by our negligence, or the negligence of our employees, agents or subcontractors (as applicable);

(b) Fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation;

(d) Defective products under the Consumer Protection Act 1987; or

(e) Any matter in respect of which it would be unlawful for us to exclude or restrict liability.

12.2 Except to the extent expressly stated in Clause 10.1 all terms implied by sections 13 to 15 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 are excluded.

13 Subject to Clause 14.1:

(a) We shall not be liable to you, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, for any loss of profit, or any indirect or consequential loss arising under or in connection with any contract between us; and

(b) Our total liability to you for all other losses arising under or in connection with any contract between us, or whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, shall be limited to the net price of the publications.

14. How we may use your personal information

14.1 How we will use your personal information. We will use the personal information you provide to us:

(a) to supply the publications to you;

(b) to process your payment for the publications; and

(c) if you agreed to this during the order process, to give you information about similar publications that we provide, but you may stop receiving this at any time by contacting us.

14.2 We will only give your personal information to third parties where the law either requires or allows us to do so.

15. Other important terms

15.1 We may transfer this agreement to someone else. We may transfer our rights and obligations under these terms to another organisation. We will always tell you in writing if this happens and we will ensure that the transfer will not affect your rights under the contract.

15.2 You need our consent to transfer your rights to someone else (except that you can always transfer our guarantee). You may only transfer your rights or your obligations under these terms to another person if we agree to this in writing.

15.3 Nobody else has any rights under this contract. This contract is between you and us. No other person shall have any rights to enforce any of its terms, except as explained in clause 15.2. Neither of us will need to get the agreement of any other person in order to end the contract or make any changes to these terms.

15.4 If a court finds part of this contract illegal, the rest will continue in force. Each of the paragraphs of these terms operates separately. If any court or relevant authority decides that any of them are unlawful, the remaining paragraphs will remain in full force and effect.

15.5 Even if we delay in enforcing this contract, we can still enforce it later. If we do not insist immediately that you do anything you are required to do under these terms, or if we delay in taking steps against you in respect of your breaking this contract, that will not mean that you do not have to do those things and it will not prevent us taking steps against you at a later date. For example, if you miss a payment and we do not chase you but we continue to provide the publications, we can still require you to make the payment at a later date.

15.6 Which laws apply to this contract and where you may bring legal proceedings if you are a consumer.

If you have ordered from our website, and you are a consumer, these terms are governed by Swiss law and you can bring legal proceedings in respect of the publications in the Swiss courts.

15.7 Alternative dispute resolution if you are a consumer. Alternative dispute resolution is a process where an independent body considers the facts of a dispute and seeks to resolve it, without you having to go to court. If you are not happy with how we have handled any complaint, you may want to contact an alternative dispute resolution provider.

15.8 Which laws apply to this contract and where you may bring legal proceedings if you are a business.

If you have ordered from our website and you are a business, any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with a contract between us or its subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims) shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of Switzerland and the courts of Switzerland shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any such dispute or claim.

Terms and conditions