Brooklyn Journal of International Law

Volume 3 | Issue 2 Article 5

1977

A Modern Lex Mercatoria: Political Rhetoric or

Substantive Progress?
Louise Hertwig Hayes

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Recommended Citation
Louise H. Hayes, A Modern Lex Mercatoria: Political Rhetoric or Substantive Progress?, 3 Brook. J. Int'l L. (1977).
Available at: https://brooklynworks.brooklaw.edu/bjil/vol3/iss2/5

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 NOTES
A MODERN LEX MERCATORIA: POLITICAL
RHETORIC OR SUBSTANTIVE PROGRESS?
INTRODUCTION

Some years ago, Dr. Clive Schmitthoffl suggested the formu-

lation of a new lex mercatoria by setting forth this challenge:
The evolution of an autonomous law of international trade
founded on universally accepted standards of business conduct,
would be one of the most important developments of legal sci-
ence in our time. It would constitute a common platform for
commercial lawyers from all countries, those of planned and free
market economy, those of civil law and common law, and those
of fully developed and developing economy, which would enable
them to co-operate in the perfection of the legal mechanism of
international trade.2
This statement provided added impetus to the already existent
desire of businessmen and international lawyers to see a new law
merchant developed. It gave focus to a colloquium of legal schol-
ars assembled to begin the task of removing "artificial legal bar-
riers impeding the flow of trade between the nations."' It led in
a somewhat indirect way to the formation of the United Nations
Commission on International Trade Law4 [hereinafter referred to
as UNCITRAL or Commission].

1. Lecturer in Law, the City of London College; General Reporter to the London
Colloquium on the New Sources of the Law of International Trade.
2. Schmitthoff, The Law of International Trade, Its Growth, Formulation and
Operation, in INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATON OF LEGAL SCIENcE, THE SOURCES OF TH LAW OF
INTERNATIONAL TRADE 5 (C. Schmitthoff ed. 1964) (compilation of articles, reports, and
summaries of discussions, all of which were part of the proceedings of the London Collo.
quium on the New Sources of the Law of International Trade held in 1962).
3. Schmitthoff, Introduction to INTERNATIONAL ASSOCITION OF LEGAL SCIENCE, TIM
SOURCES OF THE LAW OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE at x (C. Schmitthoff ed. 1964).
4. Honnold, Memoire In Honour of Clive M. Schmitthoff, in LAW AND INTERNATIONAL
TRADE 10 (F. Fabricius ed. 1973).
In 1966 the General Assembly created the United Nations Commission on Inter-
national Trade Law (UNCITRAL); this new Commission of twenty-nine States,
representing each of the great regions of the world, is moving strongly forward
with its task of clearing away legal impediments to world trade. . . . Dr.
Schmitthoff's writings had helped produce the climate of opinion that made this
step possible.
1977] MODERN LEX MERCATORIA

Now, an important economic imperative lends impetus to

the development of a new framework of law for commercial enter-
prise. As the movement toward the unification or harmonization
of a new law merchant has progressed, the capital gap between
developing and developed countries has increased. The need of
developing nations to insure the influx of capital, technology,
and skilled managerial personnel from other countries in order
to achieve economic growth5 looms ever more important. It is
apparent that such investment will not pass from developed to
developing nations unless the requisite conditions of trust and
security exist. As one writer suggests, "in a clearly unstable
climate, capital will not be ventured regardless of the country's
stage of development."' Thus, investment and commercial inter-
course are impossible except within a framework of law, and the
more complex the economic ties which unite us, the more compre-
hensive must be the law which governs that intercourse. Trade
and economic links which span national boundaries must engen-
der a body of law which is equally transnational. "Nations as well
as men are becoming ever more dependent on one another for the
common needs of daily life. The logic of this movement towards
one world is one law in those areas wherein uniformity is neces-
'7
sary and convenient."
This note will discuss some of the efforts toward development
of a new lex mercatoria that have followed those words of high
purpose spoken at the London Colloquium some fifteen years ago.
It will endeavor to assess the work of UNCITRAL-the organiza-
tion especially created to speed this task toward completion-and
of The International Institute for the Unification of Private Law
[hereinafter referred to as UNIDROIT]. These efforts will be
viewed against the backdrop of economic problems which should
add an increasing sense of urgency to these endeavors.

I. HISTORY OF THE LEX MERCATORIA

At one time in the history of Europe, merchants were gov-

erned to a remarkable extent by laws which they had developed

5. J. BASCHE, JR. & M. DUERR, INTERNATIONAL TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY 19 (1975)

(National Industrial Conference Board publication).
6. K. BIVENS, THE CAPITAL GAP BETWEEN DEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 9
(1970) (National Industrial Conference Board publication).
7. Graveson, Foreword to INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LEGAL SCIENCE, THE SOURCES
OF THE LAW OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE at v (C. Schmitthoff ed. 1964) (emphasis added).
 BROOKLYN J. INT'L L. [Vol. 111:2

in the course of their customary dealings with one another.' Dis-

putes between merchants and those who dealt with merchants
were adjudicated in special courts in which judge and jury were
also merchants. 9 This mercantile law or law merchant 0 enjoyed
a fair degree of uniformity from town to town, fair to fair, and
country to country, and in that sense became a sort of interna-
tional law of commerce.
The beginning of the medieval law merchant can be traced
to the maritime cities of Italy. These cities expanded the Rhodian
Sea Law of the seventh or eighth century" and the laws of the
later Roman Empire to create a "maritime law [which] tended
to become a law common to all nations and peoples,"'" and which
was evolved "to meet changing, growing requirements of interna-
13
tional commerce."'
In England, Germany, and northern France, trade was con-
ducted largely at fairs," and the law merchant developed through

8. Honnold, The Influence of the Law of InternationalTrade on the Development and

Characterof English and American Commercial Law, in INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF
LEGAL SCIENCE, THE SOURCES OF THE LAW OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE 70 (C. Schmitthoff ed.
1964).
9. F. SANBORN, ORIGINS OF THE EARLY ENGLISH MARITIME AND COMMERCIAL LAW 197
(1930).
10. Gerard Malynes, a merchant, recorded the general practices adhered to in mer-
cantile dealings in 1622. He selected the term lex mercatoriato encompass rules governing
maritime and commercial activities:
I have Intitled the Book according to the Ancient name of Lex Mercatoria, and
not Jus Mercatorium; because it is a customary Law, approved by the Authority
of all Kingdoms and Commonwealths, and not a Law established by the Sover-
eignty of any Prince, either in the first foundation or by continuance of Time.
G. MALYNES, CONSUETUDO VEL LEX MERCATORIA: OR THE ANCIENT LAW MERCHANT at a
(London 1685).
11. An even earlier code called Lex Rodia deJactuwas instituted by both Greece and
Rome as early as third or second century B.C. F. SANBORN, supra note 9, at 5.
12. Id. at 40.
13. Id. at 127, citing 5 W. HOLDSWORTH, A HISTORY OF ENGLISH LAW 60 (3d ed. 1922)
(footnote omitted). Law governing commercial transactions and mercantile activities also
developed in the guilds within these city-states. These became uniform over a period of
time. A merchant expelled from a guild in one city could go to another city and resume
his mercantile activities; eventually, to prevent this practice, the guild from which the
merchant was expelled would request guilds in other city-states to place him under an
interdict. Thus the guilds grew closer together, shared rules common to all, and came to
be referred to collectively as the Mercanzia. Id.at 143. Later Florentine law recognized
these entities as State courts for handling arbitration and debt collection cases. Id. at 145.
14. Id. at 134. A town would hold its fair at a regular time each year. Merchants would
come from near and far to sell their wares. In each street of a fair, some special trade was
conducted, e.g., ironmongery, wool, cloth, leather, books, commodities. W. BEWES, THE
ROMANCE OF THE LAW MERCHANT 94 (1923). In the earliest years, permission to hold a fair
in a specific town was often given by the church, and the fairs had a charitable or quasi-
1977] MODERN LEX MERCATORIA 213

that medium.15 In England, the rise to prominence of the fairs and

their courts came somewhat later than on the Continent.'" The
great fairs were the centers of medieval English trade. Permission
to hold a fair was extended by royal grant, and the time during
which the fair was to be held was specified.' 7 The right to hold a
fair brought with it the right to hold what was known as a
"piepowder court"'" before which disputes arising in connection
with or during the time of the fair were resolved. Markets were
more local than the fairs, drawing roughly from a six-mile rad-
ius.'9 They also had their own courts" with jurisdiction to admin-
ister justice for commercial injuries and minor offenses done at
that market. 2' These courts were held before a mayor or bailiff if
the market or fair were conducted in a borough, or before a stew-
ard if the market belonged to a lord. 22 In these courts, juries were
comprised of merchants.23 The jurisdiction of such courts was

charitable motive. But in France, under the Carolingians, royal prerogatives began to be
asserted over the designation and management of the fairs. The King undertook to guaran-
tee safe conduct to merchants travelling to and from the fairs. A knight and a merchant
were generally appointed to administer the fairs, and the administrative officer of the fair
also became an "officer of justice." Disputes were settled by these officers of justice by
applying those laws which had evolved as customs among the merchants. F. SANBORN,
supra note 9, at 134-38. An historian writing of this period said that "the merchants were
a class distinguished from the rest of the community by legal privileges that gave them a
protection which others did not share, while market and fair formed a separate judicial
unit which no royal judge could enter." W. MITcHELL, AN ESSAY ON THE EARLY HISTORY OF
THE LAW MERcHANT 25-26 (1904), cited in F. SANBORN, supra note 9, at 137 n.79.
15. F. SANBORN, supra note 9, at 127.
16. Nevertheless, by the time of the Norman Conquest, England was already engaged
in trade with the Continent, e.g., shipping embroidery to Italy. Id. at 329. Ideas of special
laws to protect merchants had been expressed even earlier. Ethelred the Redeless had
declared during his reign in the late tenth and early eleventh century that merchant ships
coming from the high seas into any port shall be "at peace." Id. at 328.
17. Id. at 333-34. If the fairs extended beyond their appointed time, penalties were
assessed. Any goods sold after the time of the fair were fined double the value of the goods.
Id.
18. Honnold, supra note 8, at 70. There have been various explanations of the origins
of the term "piepowder." One possibility is that it is derived from the word pes
pulvericatus, or dusty feet, descriptive of the feet of the men who wandered from fair to
fair; another is that it is derived from the old French piedpulderaux, the term for peddler.
Coke and Blackstone believed that the term was descriptive of the swiftness of justice in
these courts, i.e., that justice was done before dust could fall from the feet of those before
the court. F. SANBORN, supra note 9, at 335 n.91.
19. Id. at 332.
20. Id. at 335-36. Some courts were organized in those towns in which a single com-
modity was traded. These were known as "staple" courts. Id. at 393-94; see Honnold,
supra note 8, at 70-71.
21. 1 W. HOLDSWORTH, A HISTORY OF ENGLISH LAw 536 (3d ed. 1922).
22. F. SANBORN, supra note 9, at 339.
23. Id.
 BROOKLYN J. INT'L L. [Vol. 1111:2

limited to the time of the fair or market, but extended to all civil
cases except those having to do with land, and to criminal cases
as well, since the courts were responsible for the maintenance of
order during that period.24 These laws of the fair, born of the
"peace of commerce, ' 25 grew "out of the necessities and customs
' '2
of trade.
Although legal authorities may have exaggerated the uni-
21
formity of rules in England from fair to fair or city to city, it
appears likely that the compelling reasons for the existence of a
lex mercatoriato settle disputes between merchants with fairness
and dispatch led fairs and markets to develop compatible laws:
For the maintenance of Traffick and Commerce is so pleasant,
amiable, and acceptable unto all Princes and Potentates, that
Kings have been and at this day are of the Society of Merchants:
And many times, notwithstanding their particular differences
and quarrels, they do nevertheless agree in this course of Trade,
because Riches is the bright Star, whose height Traffick takes
to direct it self by, whereby Kingdoms and Commonwealths do
flourish; Merchants being the means and instruments to per-
form the same, to the 2Glory,
8
Illustration, and benefit of their
Monarchies and States.
The decline of these special courts in England began in the
fourteenth century.29 The power of merchants to influence deci-
sions and determine the laws used therein diminished, and the
Statute of 147710 narrowed jurisdiction of the courts to the area
within the market or fair grounds.3 ' In the seventeenth century,
Lord Chief Justice Sir Edward Coke brought all law under the
domination of the common law courts.2 In some respects, how-

24. Id. at 336-37. For decisions in some of these early cases, see SELDEN SOCIETY,
SELECT CASES CONCERNING THE LAW MERCHANT (1908).
25. W. BEWES, THE ROMANCE OF THE LAW MERCHANT 138 (1923).
26. Id. at vii. For a fascinating discussion of the trading towns and activities and rules
of the guilds, see Adler, Labor, Capital & Business at Common Law, 29 HARV. L. REV.
241, 246-48 (1916).
27. Honnold, supra note 8, at 71.
28. G. MALYNEs, supra note 10, at a.
29. F. SANBORN, supra note 9, at 354.
30. 17 Edw. 4, c.2.
31. F. SANBORN, supra note 9, at 337. Part of the impetus for diminishing the power
of the courts came as a backlash to the concessions given the Hanseatic League under
Edward I and Edward II. The League was given extraordinary privileges and put beyond
the reach of local laws. Dislike of the Hanseatics seems to have led to a general dislike of
all foreign merchants. Id. at 364-66, 374.
32. Honnold, supra note 8, at 71.
1977] MODERN LEX MERCATORIA 215

ever, the mercantile law continued to have an independent exist-

ence. In Woodward v. Rowe,3 the court stated that "the law of
merchants is the law of the land, and the custome is good enough
generally for any man, without naming him merchant." 4 But the
marriage of mercantile law to the common law did not proceed
smoothly, and, more often than not, merchants settled differ-
ences between themselves rather than submitting their disputes
to what they felt to be hostile and ignorant judges and juries.35
After William Murray, Lord Mansfield, was made Chief Jus-
tice of the King's Bench in 1756, he effected a happy melding of
commercial custom and common law by creating special juries of
merchants who were familiar with commercial practices. These
juries also heard testimony about custom of the trade, and, under
the guidance of Lord Mansfield, they not only decided the case
at bar, but also issued special verdicts on questions of generally
accepted commercial practice. 3 They became a "personal liaison
between law and commerce."3 7 In this way custom and usage of
the trade were clarified in several important areas such as insur-
ance, negotiable instruments, and shipping.38 The synthesis of
commercial law and the common law had not been long accom-
plished before the "law's delay" 3 engendered a desire to create a
new international law merchant.

II. THE NEED FOR A NEW LAW MERCHANT

For at least the last 150 years, the development of a new

mercantile law or a return to the old law merchant which handled
commercial disputes with singular swiftness and fairness, has
been an express goal of merchants and legal scholars. In a speech
delivered to the Brussels Free Trade Congress of 1856, the English
representative made a plea for a new law merchant and separate
commercial courts to apply it. "[Clonsidering that Commercial
Courts judge commercial affairs with less delay, less expense, and
a more perfect knowledge of commercial usages than the ordinary
tribunals, the Committee is of the opinion that it is desirable they

33.84 Eng. Rep. 84, 2 Keble 133 (K.B. 1666).

34.Id.
35.C. FIFOOT, ENGLISH LAW AND rrs BACKGROUND 105-32 (1932).
36.Honnold, supra note 8, at 72.
37. W. YOUNG, LAw OF INSURANCE 110 (1971). Of Lord Mansfield, Samuel Johnson
said: "[Nlot a mere lawyer; he drank champagne with the wits." Id. at n.2.
38. Honnold, supra note 8, at 72.
39. W. SHAKESPEARE, HAMLET, act I, scene 1, line 72 (Kittredge ed. 1939).
 BROOKLYN J. INT'L L. [Vol. 111:2

should be established throughout Europe."' 0 As trade between

nations increased and ideas of nationalism began to interfere with
that trade, the cry for a return to a mercantile law governing only
commercial dealings between nations was carried in this century
by other voices. According to F.A. Mann, "the need for a commer-
cial law of nations can no longer be denied. We are witnessing the
growth of activities which occur in what to a considerable extent
is a legal vacuum and for which the law remains to be found."',
In 1962, the International Association of Legal Science, with
the financial support of the United Nations Economic, Social and
Cultural Organization, assembled a brilliant array of legal schol-
ars and reporters42 from East and West at the London Colloquium
on the New Sources of the Law of International Trade. The par-
ticipants in this colloquium cooperatively explored "those sources
from which the law of international trade might be derived."' 3

A. UNCITRAL
As a result of this growing interest in the development of a
new law merchant, the United Nations, on December 20, 1965,
adopted a resolution proposed by the People's Republic of Hun-
gary.44 This resolution urged the United Nations to foster further
cooperation between the groups working toward development of
a law of commerce and to commit itself to a goal of progressive
45
unification of international trade law.

40. H. HUTTON, COMMERCIAL COURTS: RESOLUTION AND EXPLANATORY STATEMENT SUB-

MITRED TO THE BRUSSELS FREE TRADE CONGRESS OF 1856, at 4 (Dublin 1857).
41. Mann, Reflections on a Commercial Law of Nations, 33 BRIT. Y.B. INT'L L. 20
(1975). See generally Gal, The Commercial Law of Nations and the Law of International
Trade, 6 CORNELL INT'L L.J. 55 (1972); Graveson, supra note 7, at v.
42. Among those attending the colloquium were: Ernest Boka, Ernst von Caemmerer,
Aleksandar Goldstajn, John Honnol,Trjan lonasco, Viktor Knapp, Gunnar Lagergren,
Antonion Malintoppi, Ion Nestor, D.F. Ramzaitsev, David A. Godwin-Sarre, Denis Tal-
Ion, and Henryk Trammer. For a complete listing of participants, including their creden-
tials, see INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LEGAL SCIENCE, THE SOURCES OF THE LAW OF INTER-
NATIONAL TRADE at xiii-xv (D. Schmitthoff ed. 1964).
43. Schmitthoff, Introduction to INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LEGAL SCIENCE, THE
SOURCES OF THE LAW OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE at ix. See note 2 supra.
44. G.A. Res. 2102, 20 U.N. GAOR, Supp. (No. 14) 91, U.N. Doc. A/6014 (1965).
45. Id. The Resolution stated, inter alia:
The General Assembly,
Recalling that it is one of the purposes of the United Nations to be a centre
for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of such common order
as the achievement of international co-operation in solving, inter alia, interna-
tional economic problems,
Convinced that it is desirable to further co-operation among the agencies
1977] MODERN LEX MERCATORIA

In response to this resolution, the Secretary-General pre-

sented a report based upon a preliminary study by Dr. Schmitt-
hoff.5 The study surveyed efforts toward the harmonization and
unification of the law of international trade beginning with the
work of the Hague Conference on Private International Law 7 in
1893.18 The Secretary-General concluded by recommending that
the General Assembly "consider the possibility of establishing a
new commission which might be called the 'United Nations Com-
mission on International Trade Law."' 4 9 Such a commission
would endeavor to coordinate the work of myriad conventions,
councils, and commissions 0 already at work, to broaden support
among additional nations, and ultimately to promote adoption by
all nations of one set of rules governing commerce among na-
tions. 1
Prior to the formation of UNCITRAL, several different ap-
proaches were employed by various groups to make some limited
efforts toward building a body of international commercial law.
One approach was to join "geographically contiguous countries,"
as in the development of rules governing the Nordic Council .2 and
the European Economic Community." Another method has been

active in this field and to explore the need for other measures for the progressive
unification and harmonization of the law of international trade,
1. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at
its twenty-first session a comprehensive report including:
(a) A survey of the work in the field of unification and harmonization of
the law of international trade;
(b) An analysis of the methods and approaches suitable for the unification
and harmonization of the various topics including the question whether particu-
lar topics are suitable for regional, interregional or world-wide action;
(c) Consideration of the United Nations organs and other agencies which
might be given responsibilities with a view to furthering co-operation in the
development of the law of international trade and to promoting its progressive
unification and harmonization.
Id.
46. Report of the Secretary-General, 21 U.N. GAOR, 3 Annexes (Agenda Item 88) 2,
U.N. Doc. A/6396 (1966).
47. The objective of the Hague Conference on Private International Law is to work
for the "progressive unification of the rules of private international law." Id. at 6. It
prepares draft conventions to be adopted by member States, and in addition promotes
their incorporation into the municipal laws of each State. The Conference has had a
cooperative arrangement with the United Nations since 1958. Id. at 6-7.
48, Id. at 5-20.
49. Id. at 24.
50. Id. at 20.
51. Id. at 24-25.
52. 1 THE EUROPA YEAR BOOK 1976: A WoRL SuRvav 244-47 (1976).
53. Report of the Secretary-General, supra note 46, at 21.
 BROOKLYN J. INT'L L. [Vol. 111:2

to join States of similar socio-economic systems. The Council for

Mutual Economic Assistance, for example, is composed of nine
countries of centrally-planned economies;5 4 these countries have
developed a set of normative regulations which are to be included
as part of any treaty between two or more member States. "5 A
third approach has been the joining of countries which are in a
comparable stage of economic development.56 The Model Law for
Developing Countries on Inventions developed by the United In-
ternational Bureaux for the Protection of Intellectual Property is
an example. 5 Of course, in countries similar with respect to all
three criteria-i.e., geographical location, form of government,
and stage of economic development-a large degree of economic
cooperation and unification of laws can be effected in a short
period of time, as has occurred with the Scandinavian countries
58
in the Nordic Council.
Each of the approaches contains built-in limitations. Efforts
to expand acceptance of the rules set forth by such nucleus groups
to other countries frequently fail, so the progress toward a single
law merchant is "slow in relation to the amount of time and effort
expended on it." 5 Work done by more diverse groupings of States
is often never completed; model laws are abandoned before adop-
tion into municipal laws; and conventions painstakingly formu-
lated are ratified by only a small percent of the member nations. "
The primary work of UNCITRAL is to remedy this state of
affairs by coordinating the work of various organizations and en-
couraging cooperation among them. UNCITRAL was envisioned
not as a codifier of law, but as an organization that would,
through communication and cooperation, piece together the
many fragments into a mosaic which would emerge as a new law
merchant.6 ' In its efforts at coordination, the Commission62 has

54. 1 THE EUROPA YEAR BOOK 1976: A WORLD SuRvEY 144-49 (1976).
55. Report of the Secretary-General, supra note 46, at 21.
56. Id.
57. Id.
58. Id.
59. G.A. Res. 2102, 20 U.N. GAOR, Supp. (No. 14) 22, U.N. Doc. A/6014 (1965).
60. Id. at 21.
61. Id. at 24-25. UNCITRAL was to remedy the current fragmented situation in
international commercial law by:
(a) Co-ordinating the work of organizations active in this field and encouraging
co-operation among them;
(b) Promoting wider participation in existing international conventions, and
wider acceptance of existing model and uniform laws;
1977] MODERN LEX MERCATORIA 219

ample opportunity to publicize its findings and make its resolu-

tions known to all member States of the United Nations since all
UNCITRAL reports are presented to the General Assembly and
become a part of its official records. In addition, United Nations
agencies, intergovernmental organizations, and international
non-governmental organizations send observers to UNCITRAL
meetings.63
As yet, however, it is nearly impossible to discern any prog-
ress by UNCITRAL in meeting the concern expressed by Profes-
sor H.C. Gutteridge:
The most urgent problem of all, however, is that of the waste of
effort and confusion that has, at times, been caused by the
existence of competing agencies engaged in the work of unifica-
tion. The remedy for this state of affairs would seem to lie in the
establishment of a rallying ground for unificatory activity-a
kind of international clearing house-which would co-ordinate
and supervise activities of this nature .... 64
Instead, at its first meetings, UNCITRAL decided that four
major areas would be given priority-international sale of goods,
international payments, international commercial arbitration,6 5

(c) Preparing, and promoting the adoption of, new international conventions,
model laws and uniform laws, and the codification and wider acceptance of
international trade terms, provisions, customs and practices;
(d) Promoting ways and means of ensuring a uniform interpretation and appli-
cation of international conventions and uniform laws in the field of the law of
international trade;
(e) Collecting and disseminating information on national legislation and
model legal developments in the field of the law of international trade;
(f) Maintaining liaison with UNCTAD, the Economic and Social Council and
other United Nations organs and specialized agencies concerned with interna-
tional trade;
(g) Taking any other action as it may deem useful to achieve its purposes.
Id.
62. The Commission was originally organized with a membership of twenty-nine
nations with each member serving a six-year term. One-third of the group is elected every
two years. G.A. Res. 2205, 21 U.N. GAOR, Supp. (No. 16) 99, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966).
In 1973, the Commission membership was increased to thirty-six. G.A. Res. 3108, 28 U.N.
GAOR, Supp. (No. 30) 146, U.N. Doc. A/9030 (1973).
63. See, e.g., Report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law,
31 U.N. GAOR, Supp. (No. 17) 22, U.N. Doc. A/31/17 (1976) (report on the work of its
ninth session) for a listing of observers.
64. H. GutrrrIDGE, COMPARATIVE LAw 183-84 (2d ed. 1949), cited in Report of the
Secretary-General, supra note 46, at 22.
65. Report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, 23 U.N.
GAOR, Supp. (No. 16) 13, U.N. Doc. A/7216 (1968).
220 BROOKLYN J. INT'L L. [Vol. 111:2

and international shipping legislation.6 Thus, UNCITRAL

seemed to turn aside from its major purpose of coordinating the
work of other groups and to adopt its own building-block ap-
proach to the problem of creating an edifice of commercial inter-
national law. It established for itself goals which seem modest in
relation to the task to be accomplished, but the progress toward
even these limited goals has been slow.
Working groups in two of the four areas-shipping and arbi-
tration-have formulated and submitted to the Commission draft
proposals on the carriage of goods by sea, and on international
arbitration." The Draft Convention on the Carriage of Goods by
Sea was approved by the Commission at its ninth session and is
now being submitted to governments and interested international
organizations for comments and proposals." The UNCITRAL
Arbitration Rules were adopted at the Commission's ninth ses-
sion, "9 and the General Assembly has been invited to recommend
their use in the "settlement of disputes arising in the context of
international commercial relations."7 The working group con-
cerning itself with international payments has not yet completed
its work on negotiable instruments to present to the Commis-
sion. 7' In 1972, the Commission approved a Draft Convention
from the working group dealing with international sale of goods."
This was the first Draft Convention to be adopted by UNCI-
TRAL. A conference of plenipotentiaries was assembled to revise
and accept the Convention in 1974, and the Convention on Pre-
scription (Limitation) in the International Sale of Goods73 was
opened for signature June 14, 1974. At this writing, the Conven-
tion has received only one of the ten signatures required to be-
come effective. Meanwhile the working group formulating rules
for the international sale of goods is preparing Conventions deal-
ing with some other sub-topic of this area. 74

66. Report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, 24 U.N.
GAOR, Supp. (No. 18) 32-33, U.N. Doe. A/7618 (1969).
67. Report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, 31 U.N.
GAOR, Supp. (No. 17) 4, U.N. Doc. A/31/17 (1976).
68. Id. at 16.
69. Id. at 34.
70. Id.
71. Id. at 11.
72. G.A. Res. 2929, 27 U.N. GAOR, Supp. (No. 30) 115, U.N. Doc. A/8730 (1972).
73. U.N. Doc. A/CONF.63/15 (1974). For a list of signatories and the single ratifying
State, see MULTILATERAL TREATIES IN RESPECT OF WHICH THE SECRETARY-GENERAL PERFORMS
DEPOSITORY FUNCTIONS 259, U.N. Doc. ST/LEG/SER.D/9 (1975).
74. Report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, 31 U.N.
1977] MODERN LEX MERCATORIA

Certainly the progress made seems minimal in relation to the

time and effort expended. Attempts, however, to take procedural
shortcuts and to speed the creation of a body of international
commercial law appear only to split UNCITRAL into competing
political groups.7 5 In 1969, the UNCITRAL representative from
France suggested a dramatic change in the method by which
Conventions were adopted which would "reduce the gap between
the slow pace of international legislation and the requirements of
the modern world, especially in the field of international trade. 76
To that end, he suggested that States agree in advance to accept
the rules which would be established by the Commission "as a
common body of law." 77 All member States would be bound by
this set of rules only in international transactions. In the event
that a State wished to avoid the rules, it could do so only by
setting forth in an affirmative manner a different set of rules
which it found more acceptable.7 8 This would reverse the normal
procedure in international law whereby a set of proposals is cre-
ated and then ratified and signed by each State. Under the pro-
posal by the French representative, a State by taking no action
with respect to a proposed set of rules would signal acceptance
rather than rejection. This suggested acceleration of the process
of development of a common law for international trade, offered
to the Commission in detail at several meetings, has not received
enthusiastic support from member nations.7 1

GAOR, Supp. (No. 17) 6, 7, U.N. Doc. A/31/17 (1976).

75. Report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, 24 U.N.
GAOR, Supp. (No. 18) 46, U.N. Doc. A/7618 (1969). For a more complete presentation of
the French representative's proposal, see [1968-19701 1 Y.B. UNCITRAL 288, U.N. Doc.
A/CN.9/SER.A1970; [1971] 2 Y.B. UNCITRAL 139, U.N. Doc. A/CN.9/SER.A/1971.
76. Report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, 24 U.N.
GAOR, Supp. (No. 18) 46, U.N. Doc. A/7618 (1969).
77. Id.
78. Id.
79. Report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, 25 U.N.
GAOR, Supp. (No. 17) 49, U.N. Doc. A/8017 (1970). The representative from France has
persisted in setting this idea before the Commission. His suggestion ripened into a more
detailed proposal in the Third Session. Report of the United Nations Commission on
International Trade Law, 25 U.N. GAOR, Supp. (io. 17) 49, U.N. Doc. A/8017 (1970). It
became a preliminary draft before the Fourth Session. Report of the United Nations
Commission on International Trade Law, 26 U.N. GAOR, Supp. (No. 17) 45, U.N. Doc.
A/8417 (1971). For all these efforts, the Commission has shrunk from any practical steps
to lay the groundwork for implementing this idea.
 BROOKLYN J. INT'L L. [Vol. 111:2

B. UNIDROIT
Prior to the creation of UNCITRAL, the work of coordination
was carried on by the International Institute for the Unification
of Private Law"0 [hereinafter referred to as UNIDROIT]. In ex-
amining the progress being made toward creation of a new law
merchant, the earlier and ongoing initiatives of this organization
must be considered.
UNIDROIT, headquartered in Rome, was established in 1926
under the auspices of the League of Nations."' In 1939, UNI-
DROIT severed its affiliation with the League but continued its
work financed by those States which chose to be members." This
organization attempts to unify specific branches of substantive
law of different countries. To accomplish this end, UNIDROIT
prepares draft conventions for adoption by diplomatic confer-
ences. Generally these draft conventions establish technical stan-
dards in specific areas of commercial dealings which are accepta-
ble to the governments of its member States. 3 UNIDROIT func-
tions also as a research and resource group-preparing reports,
draft proposals, and preliminary documents for other groups,
such as the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. 4
UNIDROIT seeks to coordinate activities of organizations by as-
sembling "round tables-to find common ground acceptable by
the professions concerned." ' In this way it replicates to some
extent the old mercantile law courts which assembled members
of a profession in order to formulate rules for the governance of
the commercial activities of that profession. 8 Although most of
UNIDROIT's work is concerned with technical topics of

80. As of 1970, UNIDROIT had forty-five members: Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Bra.
zil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Ecuador, Fed-
eral Republic of Germany, Finland, France, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, India, Iran,
Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Nor-
way, Pakistan, Paraguay, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
Turkey, United Arab Republic, United States, Uruguay, Vatican City, Venezuela, and
Yugoslavia. [1969] ANNUAIRE L'UNMCATION Du Daorr 7 (Institute International Pour
L'Unification du Droit Priv4).
81. Report of the Secretary-General, 21 U.N. GAOR, 3 Annexes (Agenda Item 88) 5,
U.N. Doc. A/6396 (1966).
82. 1 UNIFORM L. Rav. 21 (1976).
83. [1970] Y.B. UNIDROIT 19.
84. For example, UNIDROIT prepared for that group the Draft Convention on the
Contract for the International Carriage of Passengers and Luggage by Road. [19741 id.
at 69 n.1. For the full text of the Draft Convention see id. at 69-101.
85. [1970] id. at 29.
86. See W. YOUNG, supra note 37.
1977] MODERN LEX MERCATORIA

international law, methods of unification and harmonization of

law and methods of ensuring uniformity of interpretation of laws
are also studied. In its efforts to coordinate the activities of var-
ious groups, UNIDROIT publishes several periodical materials."7
Although any member State of the United Nations or its
specialized agencies may become a party to UNIDROIT conven-
tions, participating member States have been primarily the so-
called "free enterprise" States.88 It was undoubtedly this Western
and free enterprise bias of UNIDROIT that influenced the United
Nations representative from Hungary to initiate the activity
which resulted in the creation of UNCITRAL. 9 In this light, it is
not surprising that UNCITRAL and UNIDROIT, which to some
extent perform the same coordinating function, enjoy a natural
rivalry."
Evidence of this competition dates from UNCITRAL's crea-
tion. In a 1970 Report, UNIDROIT stated its intention to cooper-
ate with UNCITRAL, but also expressed fears that the proce-
dures of UNCITRAL might inhibit completion of work already
done by UNIDROIT.9 In particular, UNIDROIT was concerned
that both its Conventions-the Uniform Law on the International
Sale of Goods (Corporeal Movables)92 and the Uniform Law on
the Formation of Contracts for the International Sale of Goods
(Corporeal Movables),93 referred to as the Hague Conventions of
1964-might not be ratified promptly by member States.
UNIDROIT urged the implementation of the two Conventions
without "waiting for further UNCITRAL studies as this might
delay unnecessarily and for a long time the efforts toward unifica-

87. Its Yearbook, Uniform Law Review (prior to 1972 called Unification of Lau),
surveys work being done on unification of private commercial law. A quarterly, Uniform
Law Cases, reviews decisions on conventions and uniform laws which have been reached
in the courts of various countries. The looseleaf publication Digest of Legal Activities of
InternationalOrganizationsand Other Institutions gives an up-to-date sketch of the cur-
rent areas of international commercial law in which each of thirty-three formulating
groups and their various working parties are engaged.
88. See Report of the Secretary-General, supra note 46, at 21. Of the twenty-seven
signatories of the Final Act of the Conference produced by the Hague Conventions of 1964,
twenty-two were European countries. Id. at 5.
89. Farnsworth, UNCITRAL-Why? What? How? When?, 20 AM. J. Comp. L. 314,
315 (1972).
90. Id. at 316.
91. [1970] Y.B. UNIDROIT 19.
92. 1 REGISTER OF TEXTS OF CONVENTIONS AND OTHER INSTRUMENTS CONCERNING INTER-
NATIONAL TRADE LAw 39 (1971).
93. Id. at 64. For a recent chart showing ratifications see 14 INT'L LEGAL MATS. 852-
53 (1975). The Hague Convention entered into force in 1972.
 BROOKLYN J. INT'L L. [Vol. ]I:2

tion, [and might] well jeopardize all the results achieved

through the preparation of the two Conventions and at any rate
postpone their entry into effect by a good number of years." 4
The rivalry continues. At its seventh session in 1974, UNCI-
TRAL considered a request from UNIDROIT that UNCITRAL
include in its program of work the "draft of a law for the unifica-
tion of certain rules relating to the validity of contracts of interna-
tional sale of goods" which had been adopted by the Governing
Council of UNIDROIT.95 The request was avoided rather than
rejected by UNCITRAL's decision that it might be more desira-
ble to deal with the validity and formulation of contracts in one
document or, perhaps, to deal with the issue in a general manner
without limiting it to those contracts concerned only with the sale
of goods.96
Despite the apparent initial reluctance of UNCITRAL to
accept the work of UNIDROIT when proffered, there are signs of
cooperation as well. At its second session, for example, UNCI-
TRAL established a working group to attempt to modify the Uni-
form Law of the International Sale of Goods annexed to the
Hague Conventions of 1964 in order to render it acceptable to
countries with differing legal, social, and economic systems.97 Al-
though UNCITRAL's modification involved the creation of a new
text, it was to be built on the framework of the old which had been
created in large part by UNIDROIT. Over the years the efforts
to achieve a common goal should diminish the rivalry and en-
hance cooperative endeavors." Certainly the task is large enough
to command the best efforts of both organizations working to-
gether, not at cross-purposes. Economic urgency may accelerate

94. [1970] Y.B. UNIDROIT 19.

95. Report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, 31 U.N.
GAOR, Supp. (No. 17) 8, U.N. Doc. A/31/17 (1976).
96. Id. at 8. It is interesting to note that UNCITRAL, at the end of its ninth session,
unanimously adopted a decision defining more limited goals for the working committee
concerned with the international sale of goods. The Commission instructed the working
group to "confine its work. . . to contracts of the international sale of goods." Id. at 40.
97. Id. at 7.
98. Since 1958, UNIDROIT and the United Nations have had an arrangement by
which they exchange information and documentation in order to "promote co-operation
and co-ordination." E.S.C. Res.678, 26 U.N. ESCOR, Supp. (No. 1) 22, U.N. Doc. E/3169
(1958). This cooperation and exchange continues with UNCITRAL, which is now an
integral part of the United Nations. UNIDROIT oftens sends observers to UNCITRAL
meetings and vice versa, although, it is interesting to note that UNIDROIT is not listed
as an observer at the 1976 session. Report of the United Nations Commission on Interna-
tional Trade Law, 31 U.N. GAOR, Supp. (No. 17) 2-3, U.N. Doc. A/31/17 (1976).
1977] MODERN LEX MERCATORIA

the pace of cooperation between UNCITRAL and UNIDROIT,

and the pace of accomplishment as well.
It is clear that UNIDROIT has accomplished more with re-
spect to unification of international law over the past ten years
than has UNCITRAL, and the reasons for this disparity are also
clear. UNIDROIT represents a much less broad-based member-
ship than UNCITRAL, and consequently consensus is more easily
achieved. As efforts are made to bring together States of more
diverse economic and social orientation, and to involve them in
the process of formulating laws, as in UNICITRAL, the pace of
accomplishment decreases accordingly.
III. INTERNATIONAL LAW AND ECONOMIC NECESSITY

The 1966 Report of the Secretary- General recommending the

formation of UNCITRAL admonished that "it should be kept in
mind that the unification process is desirable per se only when
there is an economic need and when unifying measures would
have a beneficial effect on the development of international
trade."99 Certainly, in the presence of an ever-widening capital
gap between developed and developing countries, the economic
necessity for creating a legal framework, espoused by all nations,
within which investment and trade can flourish, is greater now
than ever before. An international law study stated:
One of the dominating problems of today is to create a satisfac-
tory and stable climate for the flow of private foreign invest-
ment. This is because the economic development of the develop-
ing countries depends to a large extent on private foreign capi-
tal, and because they may not move to the areas where they are
most needed unless reasonable conditions for security exist.,"
The economic necessity to encourage direct foreign investment in
developing countries is clear. The issue is how this goal is to be
accomplished.
A survey of business leaders of capital-exporting nations
sought the criteria employed by them in determining whether to
invest large capital sums in particular countries. The results were
revealing. High on the list of criteria was the stability of the
government of the capital-importing country.'01 Most executives

99. Report of the Secretary-General, supra note 46, at 21.

100. Z. KRONFOL, PROTECTION OF FOREIGN INVESTMENT 5 (1972).
101. K. BIVENS, supra note 6, at 57.
 BROOKLYN J. INT'L L. [Vol. 111:2

participating in the Eighth International Survey of Business

Opinion and Experience felt that if an individual nation is unable
to guarantee its own stability, investment can nevertheless be
encouraged by "more inclusive networks of international conven-
tions guaranteeing a free flow of goods and capital and protecting
the property of private investors against political disasters."''0
Although bilateral and multilateral agreements can be made
self-regulating in the sense of including within them commit-
ments to submit disagreements to binding arbitration,' such
provisions are likely to provide ineffective protection for private
corporations in less stable countries. Since these nations tend to
be those most in need of foreign capital, a vicious cycle begins:
lack of capital and economic growth yields poverty, poverty
causes discontent and political instability, and political instabil-
ity creates a climate unfavorable for investment. This situation
has been termed a "multifaceted complex phenomenon that can-
not be tackled fractionally but must be faced by a systems ap-
proach."'0 4 For those countries unable to achieve domestic secu-
rity, the establishment of an extranational or international law
providing encouraging guarantees to foreign investors is crucial.

A. The Problem of Nationalism

Running counter to some extent to the efforts to attract
capital into Third World or developing countries is the strong
force of nationalism. Nationalistic concerns of developing coun-
tries as to the ownership of their natural resources and control of
their economy resulted in the United Nations General Assembly's
adoption of a Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States." 5
This declaration, although purporting to affirm the goal of
"cooperation in solving international problems in the economic
and social fields," ' endorsed a new and militant nationalism. It
stated, inter alia:
1. Every State has and shall freely exercise full permanent
sovereignty, including possession, use and disposal, over all its
wealth, natural resources, and economic activities.

102. Id.
103. Report of the Secretary-General, supra note 46, at 10.
104. K. BIVENS, supra note 6, at 71.
105. Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States, G.A. Res. 3281, 29 U.N.
GAOR, Supp. (No. 31) 51, U.N. Doc. A/9631 (1974).
106. Id.
1977] MODERN LEX MERCATORIA

2. Each State has the right:

(a) To regulate and exercise authority over Foreign invest-
ment within its national jurisdiction in accordance with its laws
and regulations and in conformity with its national objectives
and priorities. 0°
This declaration raised before enterprises seeking to invest in
Third World countries the specter of expropriation" 8 of invest-
ment properties. Yet without importation of technology and capi-
tal, the desire of developing nations to achieve for their peoples a
share of the world's prosperity will never be realized. The First
Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commis-
sion for Latin America set forth a thesis which urges the estab-
lishment of industry in developing countries. "While the Third
World relies solely on the export of raw materials and staple
commodities, it is doomed because the export prices of such goods
have been steadily falling over the years, while the prices of man-
ufactured goods, the preserve of the developed world, have been
rising. Aid and technical assistance are only palliatives as long as
Latin America is not industrialized." ' 09

107. Id.
108. A heightened awareness of the effects of expropriation was experienced by
United States investors in the 1960's with the rash of expropriations of American-owned
enterprises in Cuba. At the time, the United States Department of State branded the
action "manifestly in violation of those principles of international law which have long
been accepted by the free countries of the West. It is in essence discriminatory, arbitrary
and confiscatory." State Dept. Note No. 397 to Cuban Ministry of Foreign Relations
(Sept. 16, 1960). When the matter came before the Supreme Court, however, in Banco
Nacional de Cuba v. Sabbatino, 376 U.S. 398 (1964), the Court declined to act or to apply
principles of international law. Id. at 428-31. In a more recent expropriation case, Alfred
Dunhill of London, Inc. v. Republic of Cuba, 425 U.S. 682 (1976), four members of the
Supreme Court set forth the idea that when a country is acting as a trader it cannot seek
protection under either the sovereign immunity theory or the act of state doctrine, but
should be subject to the customary laws which govern merchants in their dealings with
one another. 425 U.S. at 695. Here, at least, lip service was paid the idea of a new law
merchant, although a majority of the Court did not espouse it. See Case Comment, 3
BROOKLYN J. INT'L L. 77 (1976).
The so-called traditional view of expropriation had recognized the right of a country
to expropriate for public purposes conditioned on the requirement of "adequate, effective,
and prompt" compensation. Note from Sec'y of State Hull to Mexican Ambassador (Apr.
3, 1940) MS. Dep't of State, File No. 812.6363/6659A, noted in 3 G. HACKWORTH, DIGEST
OF INTERNATIONAL LAW 663 (1942). This view was espoused by a majority of nations express-
ing an opinion circa 1940, but as Professor Friedmann noted in 1965: "We must remember
that a generation ago there was a more or less homogeneous club of western nations, and
that the question of protection of property in foreign investment was much more one-
sided. We have to take some account of the views of over 75 under-developed nations."
Domke, Friedmann, & Henkin, Act of State: Sabbatinoin the Courts and in Congress, 3
COLuM. J. TRANSNAT'L L. 99, 106 (1965) (remarks of Wolfgang Friedmann).
109. L. TURNER, MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES AND THE THIRD WORLD 88 (1973).
 BROOKLYN J. INT'L L. [Vol. IH:2

Obviously the developing nations must temper a sense of

national destiny with enlightened long-term self-interest. This
may well necessitate the creation of a stable climate for invest-
ment by multinational enterprises-those same enterprises
against which so much vituperative political rhetoric has been
directed-in an effort to raise the standard of living in developing
countries.

B. Capital Outflow and Capital Generation

An examination of the capital problems of developing coun-
tries which evidence a deteriorating rather than an improving
economic situation reveals the urgency of creating as soon as
possible a framework of commercial law within which capital,
assured of safety, can seek out need and opportunity. The United
States is the largest investor of capital abroad.11 In order to assess
trends in capital investment in developing and developed coun-
tries, figures relating to United States foreign investment have
been analyzed.
Careful study of the chart in Appendix A shows that during
the decade 1966 through 1975, United States direct capital invest-
ment abroad increased 157%-from $51.8 billion to $133.2 billion.
This increase in American investment has not varied significantly
between developing and developed countries: 151% increase in
developing countries and 158% increase in developed countries.
Nevertheless, during this decade, only 48% of the increase in
investment in developed countries represented new capital out-
flow from the United States, while 56% of the increase in under-
developed countries represented American capital outflow. This
differential in the source of funds for direct investment has been
increasing in recent years. For instance, the greatest disparity
occurred in 1975 when 36% of new direct investment in developed
countries consisted of capital outflow from the United States
while 56% of such investment in developing countries was

110. From 1967 to 1971 the book value of direct foreign investment undertaken by
all investor nations increased from $108.2 billion to $165 billion. The United States invest-
ment grew from $59.5 billion to $86 billion. As of 1976, United States direct investment
overseas was estimated at more than $120 billion, three times that of any other nation.
Even if, as expected, levels of added United States overseas investment begin to taper off
in the late 1970's, it is estimated that not under $7 billion annually of additional overseas
inputs will be made. J. LAPALOMBARA & S. BLANK, MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS AND
NATIONAL ELITES: A STUDY IN TENSIONS 6-7 (1976) (National Industrial Conference Board
publication).
1977] MODERN LEX MERCATORIA

generated by United States capital outflow.

These statistics indicate that once an investment has been
made in a developed country, undoubtedly because of the relative
stability of the country, the enterprise making the investment
will tend to accumulate capital and reinvest it in that same coun-
try. In the case of comparatively unstable developing countries,
the tendency is not to accumulate and reinvest capital in that
same country but to move it elsewhere. It is apparent that if this
pattern is allowed to continue, the capital gap between developed
and developing countries will grow ever wider.
This increasing gap may be explained by a number of factors.
First, direct investment in developed countries is now three times
the magnitude of direct investment in developing coun-
tries-$91.1 billion compared to $34.9 billion. The larger invest-
ment base naturally yields more dollars for reinvesting. Second,
because companies seek a quicker return in developing countries
where conditions are less certain, they invest in such a manner
that their yield rate in developing countries is higher than that
in developed countries in any given year. (See Appendix B.)
Third, reinvestment of earnings in developed countries appears
to be a common practice, while a desire to "take the money and
run" seems to be characteristic of investors in the developing
countries.
As long as the abovementioned factors are at work, it is
apparent that it will be necessary to encourage the flow of new
capital into developing couritries at a much higher rate than into
developed countries each year just to maintain the status quo.
When one realizes that the long-term goal is to ensure that under-
developed countries improve their position relative to developed
countries, the problem begins to assume its proper dimensions.

CONCLUSION

A pressing need exists to persuade investors that their foreign

investments will be safe, to create a climate which will encourage
both the influx of new capital and reinvestment of profits from
the old in developing countries, and to develop a framework of
law governing all commercial activities which can be separated
from nationalistic aspirations. Such actions are necessary so that
problems common to all nations-poverty, disease, over-
population, and hunger-can be fought effectively. Former Secre-
tary of State Henry Kissinger has stated:
 BROOKLYN J. INT'L L. [Vol. 11I:2

The need for a global structure has long been evident, but the
gap between developed and developing countries-a constant
challenge to tranquillity-has continued to widen. The growing
reality of our interdependence is in constant tension with the
compelling trends of separatism and intense nationalism ...
We live today in a world of many centers of power and contend-
ing ideologies; a collection of some 150-odd nations sharing few
agreed legal or moral assumptions; an international economic
system in which the well-being of all peoples is inextricably
intertwined; in short, a set of new historical realities in which
the challenges of peace, prosperity, and justice have no terminal
date and are unending.'
Although trade with and investment of capital in underde-
veloped nations will not solve all these problems, they represent
at least an appropriate and practicable way to attack them. Yet
it is clear that without the dependable framework of some sort of
international commercial law to govern these activities, there is
little hope even for a beginning. The disparity between the dream
of the 1962 London Colloquium and the reality of accomplish-
ment in 1977 is disheartening. But the "mills of the gods [do]
grind slowly,"" 2 and perhaps economic necessity will yet yield a
new law merchant.
Louise Hertwig Hayes

111. Address by Henry Kissinger, National Press Club (Jan. 10, 1977), reprinted in
43 VITAL SPEECHES 9 (1977).
112. F. VON LAGAU, "Retribution" (Longfellow trans.).
19771 MODERN LEX MERCATORIA
APPENDIX All
CAPITAL OUTFLOW AND REINVESTED EARNINGS (in billions)
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES 1966 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975

Direct Total U.S. Investment

(cumulative) $35.3 $51.8 $57.0 $62.1 $72.2 $33.0 $91.1
Capital Outflow 3.1 3.1 2.9 2.0 3.8 5.3 2.9
Reinvested earnings 1.2 2.1 2.5 3.7 6.2 5.5 5.1
TOTAL 4.3 5.2 5.4 5.7 10.0 10.8 8.0
CAPITAL SOURCE
AS A PERCENTAGE
Capital Outflow 72% 60% 54% 35% 38% 49% 36%
Reinvested Earnings 28% 40% 46% 65% 62% 51% 64%
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Direct Total U.S. Investment
(cumulative) $13.9 $19.2 $21.0 $22.9 $25.3 $28.5 $34.9
Capital Outflow 0.5 1.0 1.3 1.1 0.9 1.7 3.7
Reinvested Earnings 0.4 0.6 0.6 0.8 1.6 1.8 2.9
TOTAL 0.9 1.6 1.9 1.9 2.5 3.5 6.6
CAPITAL SOURCE
AS A PERCENTAGE
Capital Outflow 56% 63% 68% 58% 36% 49% 56%
Reinvested Earnings 44% 37% 32% 42% 64% 51% 44%
INTERNATIONAL AND
UNALLOCATED $2.6 $4.5 $5.1 $5.5 $6.2 $7.3 $7.2
TOTAL ALL AREAS $51.3 $75.5 $83.0 $90.5 $103.7 $118.8 $133.2

113. BUREAU OF LABOR STATIsTIcS, SURVEY OF CURRENT BUSINESS, AUGUST 1976 (1976);
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, SURVEY OF CURRENT BUSINESS, SEPTEMBER1966 (1966). In each
of the selected years over a ten-year period, the total of capital outflow (new capital) has
been added to the amount of reinvested earnings to give the cumulative amount of direct
United States investment for the following year. Capital outflow and reinvested earnings
are expressed as a percentage of the total annual investment.
 BROOKLYN J. INT'L L. [Vol. M11:2

APPENDIX B"'
UNITED STATES DIRECT FOREIGN INVESTMENTS IN 1975
(in millions)
Per-
Investment 1975 Earnings centage
ALL AREAS $133,168 $ 17,473 13.1%,
Petroleum 34,806 5,611 16.1
Manufacturing 56,039 6,232 11.1
Other 42,323 5,630 13.3
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES 91,139 9,683 10.6
Petroleum 20,336 1,620 8.0
Manufacturing 45,601 4,916 10.8
Other 25,203 3,146 12.5
Canada 31,155 3,399 10.9
Petroleum 6,209 865 13.9
Manufacturing 14,718 1,685 11.4
Other 10,228 850 8.3
Europe 49,621 5,164 10.4
Petroleum 11,381 502 4.4
Manufacturing 26,136 2,772 10.6
Other 12,104 1,890 15.6
Other 10,363 1,119 10.8
Petroleum 2,746 253 9.2
Manufacturing 4,747 460 9.7
Other 2,870 406 14.1
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 34,874 7,382 21.1
Petroleum 11,147 3,912 35.1
Manufacturing 10,438 1,316 12.6
Other 13,290 2,153 16.2
Latin America 22,223 3,002 13.5
Petroleum 3,370 348 10.3
Manufacturing 8,553 1,117 13.1
Other 10,300 1,536 14.9
Other 12,651 4,380 34.6
Petroleum 7,776 3,564 45.8
Manufacturing 1,885 199 10.6
Other 2,989 617 20.6
INTERNATIONAL AND
UNALLOCATED $ 7,155 $ 408
114. Id. Investment for 1975 is divided by earnings for that year to show the percen-
tage return on investment. This percentage is higher in developing countries than in
developed ones, both for each industry grouping and in total. This indicates that firms
investing in developing countries attempt to earn their returns over a much shorter period
of time because of the relative instability of those countries.