Law Merchant - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition law-merchant

Definition :

Law merchant [lex mercatoria, Lat.], that part of the law of England which governs mercantile transactions. It is founded upon the general custom of merchants of all nations, which, though different from the general rules of the Common Law, has been gradually engrafted into it and made to form part of it. See Introduction to Smith's Merc. Law.

Law merchant, means a system of customary law that developed in Europe during the Middle Ages and regulated the dealings of mariners and merchants in all the commercial countries of the world until the 17th century. Many of the law merchant's principles came to be incorporated into the common law, which in turn formed the basis of the Uniform Commercial Code. Also termed commercial law: lex mercatoria, Black's Law Dictionary, 7th Edn., p. 893.