We embed our study of these questions in the time of the revival of trade in Europe during the early middle ages. At that time, without the benefit of state enforcement of contracts or an established body of commercial law, merchants evolved their own private code of laws (the Law Merchanr) with disputes adjudicated by a judge who might be a local official or a private merchant. While hearings were held to resolve disputes under the code, the judges had only limited powers to enforce judgments against merchants from distant places.

XREF: Relates to institutional economics and the emergence of self-governing trade networks, comparable to modern freelance reputation economies.

PAUL R. MILGRO, PAUL R. MILGRO - THE ROLE O…, loc. 8