New Research Guide on International Trade Law

The GlobaLex collection at New York University has just updated its Guide on the Harmonization of International Commercial Law.

It is written by Duncan E. Alford, Director of the Law Library and Associate Professor of Law at the University of South Carolina School of Law.

"Since World War II, international trade has grown exponentially and with it the importance of international law. With the increased business between companies in different nations, the need for increased harmonization of commercial laws has become apparent. Knowledge of international commercial law has become important for the transactional lawyer, even those outside major metropolitan areas. Several years ago, LexisNexis and the International Bar Association jointly sponsored a survey of attorneys in eight countries, including the United States. The results of the survey reveal that while the practice of law is still largely domestic, the convergence of laws in certain areas, particularly trade and investment, is occurring. The vast majority of the attorneys surveyed believed that the international standardization of trade and investment law would be beneficial."

"This guide collects sources for these harmonized commercial laws and leads the legal researcher to Internet sources on this complicated area of international law. The guide begins with a discussion of the intergovernmental organizations (in some cases supranational) whose purpose is to harmonize commercial laws. The guide then identifies the important treaties that have harmonized commercial law, particularly the law of the sale of goods, and finally identifies research institutes that support the harmonization of commercial law. I have purposefully excluded conventions dealing with the transport of goods, the taking of evidence, insolvency, arbitration and procedural matters from this article. Documents of GATT and the World Trade Organization are also excluded."