Introduction

The emergence and content of a spontaneous new transnational law merchant, or lex mercatoria, substantially covering all international commercial and financial transactions remain contentious. At least in Europe, there now exists a sufficient, largely positive body of legal literature on the subject. So far there is less interest in the US. Case law, insofar as there is any, remains cautious. The probable reason is that there is still an incomplete understanding of the forces that shape this new law and maintain it. As a result there is no clear intellectual framework ...