Lex Mercatoria Online: the CENTRAL Transnational Law Database at www.tldb.de

Abstract

SINCE ITS rediscovery in the early 1960s,1 the discussion on the existence and practical usefulness of a theory of transnational commercial law, a new lex mercatoria , has been trapped in a vicious circle. A fierce ‘trench fighting’2 over the theoretical and methodical viability of this doctrine has dominated the discussion ever since.3 As a consequence, legal practice was left to act alone in its search for tools to allow the application of the lex mercatoria in everyday legal practice. For legal theory, this problem was non-existent. It has always been a standard argument against the lex mercatoria that it was not, or only rarely, used in practice4 and that its lack of practical and workable rules meant that it did not justify the development of practical approaches.5 Today, the picture has changed. Empirical studies show that transnational law is in fact being used in legal practice.6 Lists of principles and rules of the lex mercatoria provide a picture of the increasing richness of this new body of law.7 The problem remains, however, that practitioners and academics alike find it extremely difficult to get fast and easy access to die contents of the lex mercatoria : > More than any other factor, the difficulty in determining the content of transnational laws has typically stood in the way of a serious discussion concerning the practical usefulness of the lex mercatoria. Practicability – or its lack – is the watchword.8 The Transnational Law Database (TLDB) developed by the Center for Transnational Law (CENTRAL) is designed to provide the hitherto ‘missing link’ between the theory of transnational commercial law and international legal practice. For the first time, practitioners and academics have at their disposal, by means of the Internet, a highly accessible online working tool for …