The Creeping Codification of the Lex Mercatoria

Lex Mercatoria--a doctrine of transnational commercial law--can work for the everyday legal practice of the international practitioner. The Creeping Codification of the Lex Mercatoria introduces a method for the codification of transnational commercial law for precisely this purpose. 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.