History of business law: a European history?

Abstract

The transnational dimension of ius mercatorum, whose very name bears the hallmark of its juridical particularism, led some contemporary jurists to refer to lex mercatoria as an ‘a-national’ legal order. However, this negative definition overlooks the common cultural basis in Europe that has shaped commercial law, a cultural basis that goes beyond just its legal aspects. Indeed, if this deeply ‘proprium’ law sought consistency and harmonisation in Europe, accounting for this phenomenon cannot arguably merely rely on the unstoppable strength of the market. The Early-modern period offers a first-rate testing ground in order to establish whether that shared European legal culture, whatever its authority, has effectively proved a solid, deep-rooted and resilient bulwark against the abrupt changes of the time, whether as a result of the great discoveries overseas or the globalisation of trade.