The new Hungarian Civil Code - similarly to the Vienna Convention and the Principles of European Contract Law - regulates the so called contingency contract. A contingency contract is a special way of calculating damages. A contract is a contingency contract if the obligee replaces a quantity of goods not performed to him due to the debtor's breach of contract. The obligee may enter into a contingency contract in the event of the impossibility or withholding of performance or in the event of a delay giving rise to a right of termination. Contingency contracts are concluded either for purchase or for sale. The purpose of this paper is to present and analyze international regulatory solutions for contingency contracts and to have a look at the main issues arising in the application of the legal institution stipulated in the Hungarian Civil Code and in the Vienna Convention.