The Foundations of Referring to Lex Mercatoria by Arbitrators in International Commercial Contracts

Authors

    Siroos Heidari * Assistant Prof, Depatrment of Private & Islamic Law, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran heidaris@shirazu.ac.ir
    Meysam Mobasheri Ph.D Student, Depatrment of Private & Islamic Law, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

Keywords:

Lex Mercatoria, international commercial arbitration, national law, international commerce

Abstract

Lex Mercatoria (transnational commercial law) has emerged and evolved as a spontaneous legal system beyond the legislative power of national governments, and today, nearly the entire international commercial community is well-acquainted with this self-sufficient legal framework. A review of some of the laws of leading countries in international trade, as well as model arbitration laws in the last decade, demonstrates the acceptance of Lex Mercatoria’s applicability as the governing law of international contracts, especially when the parties have explicitly agreed to apply such rules. However, a matter that invites reflection is whether arbitrators are authorized to make decisions based on Lex Mercatoria when the parties have remained silent on the choice of governing law or even when they have selected a specific national law as the governing law of the contract. Generally, an examination of the decisions rendered in numerous cases adjudicated by international commercial arbitration tribunals reveals that arbitrators tend to apply the principles and rules of this transnational legal system even in the absence of Lex Mercatoria being chosen as the governing law of the contract.

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Published

2025-04-01

Submitted

2024-10-03

Revised

2024-12-05

Accepted

2024-12-31

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Heidari , S. ., & Mobasheri , M. . (2025). The Foundations of Referring to Lex Mercatoria by Arbitrators in International Commercial Contracts. Interdisciplinary Studies in Society, Law, and Politics, 105-113. https://journalisslp.com/index.php/isslp/article/view/202

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