Key to understanding the ability of merchants from widely varying regions to enforce contracts was the evolution of the L a Mercatoria or Law Merchant - the legal codes governing commercial transactions and administered by private judges drawn from the commercial ranks. While practice varied across time and space, by the end of the 1 Ith century, the Law Merchant came to govern most commercial transactions in Europe, providing a uniform set of standards across large numbers of locations (Benson, 1989). It thereby provided a means for reducing the uncertainty associated with variations in local practices and limited the ability of localities to discriminate against alien merchants (Berman, 1983; Trakman, 1983).

XREF: Connects to institutional economics and the debate over whether legal order requires state enforcement, echoing work on private governance and reputation. QUESTION: What were the actual enforcement mechanisms when a private judge ruled against a merchant? Asset seizure, ostracism, or trade sanctions? SEED: A possible essay contrasting medieval private commercial law with modern state-centric regulation as evidence that markets can self-order.

PAUL R. MILGRO, PAUL R. MILGRO - THE ROLE O…, loc. 28