Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law

Abstract

The origin of the industrialized nations' need to comply with a specific economic policy designed to "transcend national borders in order to maximize the utilization of resources" originated from the consequences of the Industrial Revolution and, more specifically, from over-production due to the ensuing industrial growth. This economic policy "required a correspondent legislative policy able to regulate the economic relationships: this policy, not unlike the economic Policy, had to cross national borders." It is for this reason that since the end of the last century and with increasing intensity since the beginning of this century, efforts have been made to "create an internationally uniform discipline for cases linked to a plurality of countries." By doing so, one intended to overcome the nationality of law, both private and commercial, which originated from the emergence of national states in Europe and from the enactment of the first codes (such as the Scandinavian codes, the French code and the Austrian code). The enactment of these codes infringed upon the transnational character of the law previously in force which constituted a real lex universalis: the so-called lex mercatoria. This consisted of a practical body of law grounded in usages whose particularity consisted in having been created by the merchants' courts in order to solve problems related to commerce.

First Page

183

Volume

24

Publication Date

1994

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