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TEXT 10. INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL LAW IN THE NINETEENTH AND TWENTIETH CENTURIES
The development of international commercial law in the nineteenth century was characterised by an extensive use of bilateral commercial treaties. As we have seen, England entered into a large number of treaties of commerce and navigation in the nineteenth century. Most of these treaties contained the MFN clause, which is still the most popular term of bilateral commercial treaty between countries today.
In the twentieth century, in particular after the Second World War, bilateral treaties became an essential and necessary means to define and adjust trade and commercial relationships between countries. Many countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America obtained independence after the Second World War. These countries dealt with their relationships under the guidance of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations (UN). The new world order established on the UN Charter forces countries to treat each other equally and reciprocally. Bilateral treaties provide the best way to settle particular concerns of each contracting country and have been used one way or another by most countries in the world.
Multinational treaties are another important development of international commercial law in the twentieth century. This is due to the establishment of the United Nations and the increased level of economic cooperation and interdependence among its member countries. For example, Europe has been in the process of becoming a single market since the 1960s; the United States and Canada established a Free-Trade Zone in the 1980s, the United States, Canada and Mexico tripartite treaty on free trade came into existence in the 1990s, the ASEANcountries developed closer economic cooperation after the 1960s and the Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement was entered into in 1983.The multinational treaty, which refers to an international convention, such as the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods 1980 (Vienna Sales Convention, see Chapter 5 and Appendix 1), and the United Nations Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea 1978,is an effective means of developing and strengthening international economic cooperation. The current system of international commercial law is, to a large extent, dependent upon the economic cooperation and interdependence between countries.
Commercial customs and usage have been sources of international commercial law. The important development of this source of international commercial law is the codification of these customs and rules by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).The ICC is a non-governmental body established for the purpose of promoting international trade and commerce. It owes its existence to the earlier model of chambers of commerce in France. There is disagreement as to when the first Chamber of Commerce came into existence. One observer states that the Chamber of Commerce existed in Marseilles as early as the fifteenth century. Another argues that although the merchants in Marseilles formed a kind of organization in 1599, 'the name Chamber of Commerce' occurred only in 1650 and the chambers of commerce 'were not formally organised in France until 1702'. While the main functions of the chamber were to advise the government on matters of industrial and commercial concern, improve commercial legislation, and promote cooperation and development of industry and commerce, the La Rochelle Chamber of Commerce was said to have functioned 'as the major institutional buffer against the power of the state and as an officially recognized forum in which to articulate their [the merchants'] opinions'. Similar chambers emerged in England in the nineteenth century. The present International Chamber of Commerce was formed in 1919. It has played an important role in the codification and unification of commercial customs and usage in international trade and commerce. Its rules are codified customs, which do not have binding force at all. However, they can be incorporated into any contract and be binding as the terms of the contract. This is how the rules of the ICC operate. The ICC modifies its rules from time to time to reflect commercial reality today. For example, the present version of the Incoterms, initially published in 1936 was revised in 1990; and the Uniform Customs and Practice (UCP) for Documentary Credits, first published in 1933, was recently revised in 1993 (UCP 500).