Legal Definition and Related Resources of Law merchant

In England. The general body of commercial usages in matters relative to commerce. Blackstone calls it the “custom of merchants,” and ranks it under the head of the particular customs of England, which go to make up the great body of the common law. 1 Bl. Comm. 75. Since, however, its character is not local, nor its obligation confined to a particular district, it cannot with propriety be considered as a “custom” in the technical sense. 1 Steph. Comm. 54. It is a system of law which does not rest exclusively on the positive institutions and local customs of any particular country, but consists of certain principles of equity and usages of trade which general convenience and a common sense of justice have established, to regulate the dealings of merchants and mariners in all the commercial countries of the civilized world. 3 Kent, Comm. 2. In the United States. The law merchant of England, consisting of the body of usages, the decisions of the English courts construing the same, and statutes confirming and modifying the same prior to the Declaration of Independence, are a part of the common law of the United States. 19 111. 598; 1 Morris (Iowa) 128.

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This definition of Law Merchant is based on the The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary . This entry needs to be proofread.

Vocabularies (Semantic Web Information)

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“Lex Mercatoria” (“Law Merchant”) in Maritime Law

Note: There is more information on maritime/admiralty law here.

The following is a definition of “Lex Mercatoria” (“Law Merchant”), produced by Tetley, in the context of admiralty law: A body of oral, customary mercantile law which developed in medieval Europe and was administered quite uniformly across Europe by merchant judges, adjudicating disputes between merchants. The lex mercatoria originally included the lex maritima (see this maritime law term in this legal dictionary). In the contemporary world, some (although not all) scholars believe there exists a modern lex mercatoria, defined to include certain transnational trade usages and commercial customs recognized internationally by the mercantile community, and possibly extending to certain international conventions and even national laws pertaining to international economic relations. International commercial arbitration (see this maritime law term in this legal dictionary) is frequently cited as a field in which the modern lex mercatoria is operative. See Tetley, M.L.C., 2 Ed., 1998 at pp. 7, 12, 55-56, 60; Tetley, Int. C. of L., 1994 at pp. 181-185, 389, 417-419, 671, 868; Tetley, Int’l. M. & A. L., 2003 at p. 4; Tetley, “The General Maritime Law -The Lex Maritima” (1994) 20 Syracuse J. Int. L. & Comm. 105-145, at pp. 109-114 and 134-142; reprinted in [1996] ETL 469-505 at pp. 472-478 and 497-504.

“Law Merchant” in Maritime Law

Note: There is more information on maritime/admiralty law here.

See “lex mercatoria”, see this legal maritime term in this law dictionary.

Law Merchant in Admiralty Law

For information on law merchant in this context, see the entry on law merchant in the maritime law encyclopedia.