Transnational Commercial Law – Developments and Controversies

Abstract

Alongside a growing recognition that the traditional territorialist theory is limited in its ability to deal with intensifying cross-border dealings, a pluralistic converging of a multiplicity of legal orders (including domestic) to ensure the efficacy of cross-border commercial law is emerging. The future development of a transnational legal order will reflect the intensifying interactions between diverse norms, laws, actors and institutions – mirroring not necessarily the end of the nation state - but requiring a wider loyalty beyond nation state. To understand these dynamics, this chapter will explore developments in the field of transnational arbitration by examining the evolution of relevant substantive commercial laws and procedure, key forces including global soft law-making bodies, relevant actors including the nation state, arbitrators, parties and institutions, and relevant norms and governance processes influencing the continued evolution of transnational arbitration.

Keywords: transnational law, commercial arbitration, dispute resolution, harmonization, diversity, global legal practice, non-state actors, lex-mercatoria

JEL Classification: K00