
The Creeping Codification of the New Lex Mercatoria
Description
Alles über E-Books | Antworten auf Fragen rund um E-Books, Kopierschutz und Dateiformate finden Sie in unserem Info- & Hilfebereich.
The book first analyses the doctrinal basis of the modern lex mercatoria and introduces a coherent systematic framework of transnational commercial law. It then describes previous and modern efforts towards the codification of the lex mercatoria, such as the UNIDROIT Principles and the principles of European Contract Law drafted by the Lando Commission.
As a practical alternative to these initiatives, this book presents the idea of Creeping Codification of Transnational Commercial Law, a comprehensive, regularly updated list of over 60 principles and rules that easily be incorporated into day-to-day practice.
This work saves practitioners time and money by providing an easily accessed list of relevant rules and principles, thereby reducing the comparative law research needed to master the lex mercatoria. It supplies an understanding of the lex mercatoria and how to apply it in daily practice. It also offers insights into the rules of international arbitration, and more generally, into the development of transnational commercial law.
More details
Other editions
Additional editions

Content
- Cover
- Half Title Page
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Table of Contents
- Preface to the Second Edition
- Preface to the First Edition
- List of Abbreviations
- Table of Cases and Awards
- Introduction
- I. THE NEW LEX MERCATORIA AND MODERN TRENDS TOWARDS THE CODIFICATION OF TRANSNATIONAL COMMERCIAL LAW
- A. THE DOCTRINE OF A NEW LEX MERCATORIA
- 1. The Birth of the New Lex Mercatoria Doctrine
- 2. Fifty Years of Debate on the New Lex Mercatoria
- B. FROM DOGMATISM TO PRAGMATISM: MODERN TRENDS TOWARDS THE CODIFICATION OF THE NEW LEX MERCATORIA
- 1. The Dogmatic Dilemma: The New Lex Mercatoria Trapped between Legal Positivism and the Need for Codification
- 2. The Pragmatic Approach: Three Projects for the Codification of the New Lex Mercatoria
- a. The UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts
- b. The Principles of European Contract Law
- c. The TransLex Principles
- II. COURSE OF THE STUDY
- Part I The Theoretical and Methodical Foundations of the New Lex Mercatoria Doctrine
- Chapter 1 Traditional Concepts to Overcome Deficiencies in the Application of Domestic Law in Transnational Commercial Contexts
- I. INADEQUACY OF DOMESTIC LAW AS A LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR TRANSNATIONAL COMMERCIAL TRANSACTIONS
- A. CONFLICT OF LAWS
- B. SUBSTANTIVE LAW
- 1. Statutory Law
- 2. Case Law
- II. ESCAPING THE DILEMMA OF THE INTERNATIONAL LEGAL PROCESS
- A. SOLUTIONS ON THE CONFLICT OF LAWS PLANE
- 1. The 'Better-Law Approach'
- 2. The 'Comitas' Doctrine
- B. 'HYBRID' SOLUTIONS
- 1. Substantive Law Rules ('Règles Matérielles')
- 2. General Principles of Law
- C. SOLUTIONS ON THE SUBSTANTIVE LAW PLANE
- 1. Special Statutes for International Trade
- 2. Internationally Useful Construction of Domestic Laws
- III. THE CHANGING PARADIGM OF INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL LAW: PRIVATIZED LAW-MAKING
- A. ISO, IAS/IFRS, BASEL II: FROM TECHNICAL STANDARDIZATION TO PRIVATE LAW-MAKING
- B. DECENTRALIZING THE LAW-MAKING PROCESS
- C. LEGITIMIZING PRIVATIZED LAW-MAKING
- IV. SUMMARY
- Chapter 2 The Dogmatic Foundations of the New Lex Mercatoria Doctrine
- I. THE STATUS QUO IN THE DISCUSSION ON THE CONCEPT OF A TRANSNATIONAL COMMERCIAL LAW
- A. ANTINOMY OF VIEWPOINTS
- B. THE NEED FOR A UNIFORM SUBSTANTIVE LAW OF INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE AND TRADE
- C. CONFUSION OF TERMINOLOGY
- 1. Disadvantages of Descriptive Terminology
- a. De Facto Similarities of Domestic Legal Systems
- b. Uniform Law Created by International Conventions
- c. Unified Contractual Provisions
- 2. Substantive Understanding of Terminology
- a. Three Possible Meanings of 'Lex Mercatoria'
- b. Consequences of the Different Terminological Approaches
- II. TRADITIONAL OBJECTIONS AGAINST THE NEW LEX MERCATORIA DOCTRINE
- A. THE NEW LEX MERCATORIA DOCTRINE HAS NO METHODICAL FOUNDATION
- 1. The Methodical Starting Point: 'Functional Legal Comparison'
- a. The Basic Comparative Approach
- b. Purpose of the Functional Legal Comparison
- c. Details of the Comparative Process
- 2. Benefits of the Functional Legal Comparison for the New Lex Mercatoria Doctrine
- a. The Use of Comparative Law in the New Lex Mercatoria Context
- b. Functional Legal Comparison and the Legitimacy of the New Lex Mercatoria Doctrine
- c. The Dual Approach: Reception of General Principles of Law and Determination of Common Convictions of the 'Societas Mercatorum'
- d. The Search for a 'Better' Solution
- B. THE APPLICATION OF THE NEW LEX MERCATORIA LEADS TO A DECISION IN EQUITY
- 1. Practical Difficulties in the Finding of the Law
- 2. The Application of the New Lex Mercatoria Leads to Ex Aequo Et Bono Decisions Without Authorization by the Parties
- a. Differences Between Equitable Considerations Prescribed by the Law and Ex Aequo Et Bono Decisions
- b. Ex Aequo Et Bono Decisions as a Source of a New Lex Mercatoria
- C. THE MAKING OF THE NEW LEX MERCATORIA DOES NOT ENJOY THE NECESSARY TRANSPARENCY
- 1. Theoretical Significance of Legal Transparency
- 2. Increasing Publicity of International Arbitral Awards
- D. THE NEW LEX MERCATORIA LACKS PROCEDURAL LEGITIMACY
- 1. International 'Formulating Agencies'
- a. Objections to the Idea of 'Codification Through Formulating Agencies'
- b. Increasing 'Depolitization' of the Decision-Making Process of 'Formulating Agencies'
- 2. International Commercial Arbitration
- a. Lack of Forensic Quality of the International Arbitral Process
- b. No Stages of Appeal
- E. THE NEW LEX MERCATORIA RESULTS IN THE CIRCUMVENTION OF PROVISIONS WITH ORDRE PUBLIC QUALITY
- F. DOMESTIC LEGISLATURES AND COURTS DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THE NEW LEX MERCATORIA
- 1. The Classical Conflict of Laws Doctrine Does Not Accept the Idea of the Transnationalization of Commercial Law
- 2. Approximation of Traditional Conflict of Laws Doctrine and Transnational Law
- a. Approximation in the Field of International Commercial Arbitration
- b. Approximation in the Field of Classical Conflict of Laws Doctrine
- G. THE NEW LEX MERCATORIA DOES NOT HAVE THE QUALITY OF AN 'AUTONOMOUS LEGAL SYSTEM'
- 1. The New Lex Mercatoria as a Legal 'System'
- a. Ambiguity of the Notion of 'System'
- b. Increasing Systematization of the New Lex Mercatoria
- 2. The New Lex Mercatoria Does Not Constitute a 'Self-contained' System
- a. Incomplete Character of Domestic Legal Systems
- b. Approximation of the Courts' Function in Civil and Common Law Jurisdictions
- c. 'Opening Clauses' in Domestic Legal Systems
- d. Consequences for the New Lex Mercatoria Doctrine
- 3. The New Lex Mercatoria as a 'Transnational' Legal System
- a. The Functional Notion of Law
- b. The Pluralistic Theory of Legal Sources: The New Lex Mercatoria as 'Reflexive Law'
- aa. Rule-making at the 'Periphery' of the Legal Process
- bb. Globalization and the Law
- cc. Early Examples of Transnationalism
- (a) Raiser
- (b) Zitelmann and Lambert
- (c) Duguit
- c. The International Community of Merchants as a Source for the Creation of Transnational Law
- d. The Contractual Consensus as the Core of Decentralized Law-Making
- e. Necessity of a 'Multi-Party Agreement'?
- III. SUMMARY
- Part II The New Lex Mercatoria in Practice: New Approaches towards the Codification of Transnational Commercial Law
- Chapter 3 Previous Projects for the Codification of Transnational Contract Law
- I. BILATERAL AND REGIONAL PROJECTS
- A. THE DRAFT OF A FRANCO-ITALIAN OBLIGATION LAW
- 1. History and Contents
- 2. Reasons for the Failure of the Project
- B. THE AMERICAN 'RESTATEMENT OF THE LAW OF CONTRACTS'
- 1. Drafting History, Contents and Legal Effect
- 2. Creative Function of the Restatements
- C. THE PROJECT OF THE FORMER COUNCIL FOR MUTUAL ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE FOR A GENERAL LAW ON INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL CONTRACTS
- D. THE PROJECT OF A EUROPEAN CIVIL CODE OF THE PAVIA GROUP
- E. THE STUDY GROUP ON A EUROPEAN CIVIL CODE
- II. PROJECTS FOR THE GLOBAL UNIFICATION OF CONTRACT LAW
- A. THE 'COMMON CORE OF LEGAL SYSTEMS' OF CORNELL LAW SCHOOL
- 1. History and Substance of the Project
- 2. Limited Use of the Project
- a. Important Legal Systems Were Not Covered by the Study
- b. The Project Does Not Take Account of Social Reality
- c. The Project Neglects the Interaction Between General Principles of Law and Concrete Norms as the 'True Basis of a Realistic Approach to Comparative Law'
- B. THE PLAN OF THE UNIDROIT SECRETARIAT FOR THE 'PROGRESSIVE CODIFICATION' OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE LAW
- 1. The Report of the UNIDROIT Secretariat on the 'Progressive Codification of the Law of International Trade'
- 2. The Plan to Draft a 'Restatement' Anchored in Public International Law
- a. René David's Proposal for a 'Code Modèle de Base'
- b. France's Proposal for the Drafting of a Framework Convention for the Ius Commune of International Trade Law
- c. Clive Schmitthoff's Proposal for an 'Approval Committee' of UNCITRAL
- 3. First Steps towards the Drafting of an American-Style Restatement of International Contract Law
- III. SUMMARY
- Chapter 4 Informal Approaches towards the Codification of the New Lex Mercatoria
- I. RESTATEMENTS OF INTERNATIONAL CONTRACT LAW
- A. THE UNIDROIT PRINCIPLES OF INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL CONTRACTS
- 1. UNIDROIT's Organizational Framework
- 2. Steering Committee and UNIDROIT Working Group
- a. The Steering Committee
- b. The Working Group
- 3. The Method Adopted by the Working Group
- a. The Functional Comparative Methodology
- b. Methodical Particularities
- aa. Foreign Trade Laws of (Formerly) Communist Legal Systems
- (a) The International Commercial Contracts Act of the Former GDR
- (b) The Law of International Trade of the Former Czechoslovakia
- (c) The Foreign Economic Contract Law of the People's Republic of China
- bb. 'Hybrid' Laws and 'Extralegal Phenomena'
- 4. The Basic Decision: 'Restatement' Versus International Convention or Model Law
- 5. Common Features and Differences Between the UNIDROIT Principles and the American Restatements
- 6. Scope of the Principles
- a. No Definition of 'International' Contracts
- b. No Definition of 'Commercial' Contracts
- 7. Contents of the Principles
- a. Structure
- b. Constituent Elements of a Legal System: The Interaction Between 'General Principles' and 'Rules'
- aa. The Differentiation Between 'General Principles' and 'Rules'
- bb. Consequences of this Differentiation for the UNIDROIT Principles
- 8. Dispositive Character of the UNIDROIT Principles
- 9. Influence of Mandatory Provisions of Other Domestic Legal Systems
- 10. Functional Scope of the Principles: The Options Contained in the Preamble
- a. Application of the Principles in Cases Where 'the Parties Have Agreed That Their Contract Be Governed by Them'
- b. Application of the Principles in Cases Where 'the Parties Have Agreed That Their Contract Be Governed by General Principles of Law, the Lex Mercatoria or the like'
- c. The Principles May Provide a Solution to an Issue Raised When It Proves Impossible to Establish the Relevant Rule of the Applicable Law
- d. The UNIDROIT Principles as a Means to Interpret or Supplement International Uniform Law Instruments
- e. The UNIDROIT Principles as a Means for the Internationally Useful Interpretation or Supplementation of Domestic Laws
- aa. Comparative Method of Construction
- bb. 'Anticipatory' Method of Construction
- (a) Methodical Basis
- (b) Limited Use of the Anticipatory Approach for the UNIDROIT Principles
- cc. Consequences
- dd. Application of the Concept in Arbitral Practice
- f. The UNIDROIT Principles as a Model for National and International Legislatures
- 11. The 2004 Edition of the UNIDROIT Principles
- 12. Towards the 2010 Edition of the Principles
- B. THE PRINCIPLES OF EUROPEAN CONTRACT LAW OF THE LANDO COMMISSION
- 1. Heterogeneous Character of 'European Private Law'
- 2. The Principles of European Contract Law as the Foundation Stone for a 'European Ius Commune'
- a. Drafting History
- b. Structure and Contents
- c. Options for the Application of the Principles
- d. The Lando Principles as a First Step towards a European Civil Code
- II. ESCAPING THE CODIFICATION DILEMMA:THE 'CREEPING CODIFICATION OF THE NEW LEX MERCATORIA'
- A. DEFICIENCIES OF THE RESTATEMENT TECHNIQUE
- 1. No Positive Statement by the Drafters as to the Existence of the New Lex Mercatoria
- 2. Restatements as a 'Comparative Snapshot'
- B. 'CODIFICATION' VERSUS 'PROGRESSIVE DEVELOPMENT': IRRECONCILABLE CONTRADICTION OR REDEFINITION OF TRADITIONAL CODIFICATION TECHNIQUES?
- 1. The Codification of Public International Law Through the International Law Commission
- 2. The Search for a New Codification Method
- C. THE NEW CONCEPT: THE 'CREEPING CODIFICATION' OF THE NEW LEX MERCATORIA
- 1. Previous Efforts to Draft Lists of General Principles and Rules of the New Lex Mercatoria
- 2. Contribution of the Lists to the Discussion of the New Lex Mercatoria Doctrine
- 3. The Role of General Principles of Law
- a. Genetic Function of General Principles of Law
- b. General Principles of Law as Reference Points for Valuation Processes Within the System of the New Lex Mercatoria
- 4. The Open-Ended Character of the List
- 5. Creeping Codification Online: The TransLex Principles
- a. History of the List
- b. History of the Online Codification Platform 'TransLex' (www.trans-lex.org)
- aa. The Predecessor: The Transnational Law Database (Tldb)
- bb. From the Tldb to the TransLex Principles
- c. Features of the TransLex Principles: The Online Codification Process
- aa. Content and Structure of the List
- bb. Formulation and Reformulation of the Principles and Rules Contained in the List
- d. The Meaning of 'Codification' in the Context of the New Lex Mercatoria
- e. Updating and Developing the List
- III. SUMMARY
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Annexes
- Annex I Vers la Quête de la Lex Mercatoria : L'apport de L'école de Dijon, 1957-1964
- Annex II The Suez Company - an International Company
- Annex III TransLex Principles
- Index
- Back Cover
System requirements
File format: PDF
Copy-Protection: Adobe-DRM (Digital Rights Management)
System requirements:
- Computer (Windows; MacOS X; Linux): Install the free reader Adobe Digital Editions prior to download (see eBook Help).
- Tablet/smartphone (Android; iOS): Install the free app Adobe Digital Editions or the app PocketBook before downloading (see eBook Help).
- E-reader: Bookeen, Kobo, Pocketbook, Sony, Tolino and many more (only limited: Kindle).
The file format PDF always displays a book page identically on any hardware. This makes PDF suitable for complex layouts such as those used in textbooks and reference books (images, tables, columns, footnotes). Unfortunately, on the small screens of e-readers or smartphones, PDFs are rather annoying, requiring too much scrolling.
This eBook uses Adobe-DRM, a „hard” copy protection. If the necessary requirements are not met, unfortunately you will not be able to open the eBook. You will therefore need to prepare your reading hardware before downloading.
Please note: We strongly recommend that you authorise using your personal Adobe ID after installation of any reading software.
For more information, see our eBook Help page.