Abstract
This chapter analyzes how transnational commercial law is determined, interpreted, and applied by national judges. For these purposes, this chapter discusses the relationship between “national domestic law” and “international law” on the one hand and the relationship between “civil law” and “commercial law” on the other. This analysis attempts to determine how these two sets of relationships influence and, at the same time, are influenced by the new process of the transnationalization of the law. A study of transnational commercial law cases upheld by national courts serves as the basis for the proposed analysis.
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Notes
- 1.
The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflects the views of the United Nations.
- 2.
The term “continental legal system,” as opposed to “common law,” will be utilized in this study. For this purpose, the term “civil law” will not be utilized to describe the continental legal family; instead, “civil law” will be utilized to define one of the branches that, alongside commercial law and private international law, constitutes the private law in the continental systems.
- 3.
In the case of Argentina, the Constitution establishes that no one shall be obliged to do what is not mandated by the law, and no one shall be deprived of what it is not prohibited by law (Article 19). Specifically, Articles 17 and 18 of the Constitution establish that decisions shall be based on the law.
- 4.
Article 163 of the Civil and Commercial Procedural Code (Law no. 17454 of 1981, modified in 2001, hereinafter CPCCN) establishes that a decision should include “3. A brief summary of the matters that constitute the object of the trial; 4. Separately, a consideration of the matters referred to in the previous paragraph; 5. The foundations and the application of the law; … 6. The express, positive and precise decision, according to the claims and defenses presented during the trial, qualified in accordance to the law, declaring the rights of the parties and condemning or absolving the claimant or the defendant, in whole or in part.” In addition, Article 34 (Duties of Judges) of the CPCCN establishes that judges shall “4) Base all definitive or interim decisions, under penalty of nullity, according to the hierarchy of the norms in force and the principle of consistency.”
- 5.
For example, Article 1.3 of the law 7055of 1974 of the Province of Santa Fe that regulates the appeal recourse of unconstitutionality.
- 6.
This process is relatively different in the common law countries (Le Pera, 1986).
- 7.
The Consulado had jurisdiction over the whole Vice-Kingdom of the Rio de la Plata, which encompassed approximately the current territories of Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, southern Brazil, southern Bolivia, and parts of Chile. It continued to work even after the independency of Argentina from Spain in 1810.
- 8.
Article XVI of the Royal Decree that established the Consulado de Buenos Aires stated that “it should be discarded everything that smell to subtleties or formalities of law.” Real Cedula de Erección del Consulado de Buenos Ayres Expedida en Aranjuez a XXX de Enero de MDCCXCIV.
- 9.
Article V of the Royal Decree that established the Consulado de Buenos Aires reads, “The judicial process shall always follow a plain and simple style, based on the known truth and the good faith” (V. “En los juicios se ha de proceder siempre a estilo llano, verdad sabida y buena fe guardada … ” “Known truth” means the truth proven in the process, while “good faith” means reliance that the other party will behave as would ordinarily be expected (Concepcion Rodriguez, 2004).
- 10.
Although before there were attempts to include lawyers alongside merchants as judges of the Consulate, it was only in 1862 that the full “professionalization” of the Consulates occurred (Zorraquin Becu, 1966). It was surely influenced by the Constitution of 1853 which had just entered into force in Buenos Aires and which expressly established that sentences shall be based on the law (Articles 17, 18, and 19), see supra note 2.
- 11.
Still, these differences are not absolute. Generally speaking, civil law is prototypically a jurist law, while commercial law is not. But, historically, there were cases that, for a number of reasons, the ordinary civil (and even criminal) justice was applied by lay judges. On the other hand, commercial law was occasionally applied by lawyers (Zorraquin Becu, 1966; Levaggi, 2005).
- 12.
In the case of Latin America, Brazil (Lei no. 9307/1996), Bolivia (Ley 1770/1997), Paraguay (Ley 1879/02), Chile (Ley 19971/2004), and Peru (Decreto Legislativo No. 1071/2008) had passed new commercial arbitration laws (based on the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration). In addition, the constitutional courts of Bolivia, Brazil, and Chile have upheld the constitutionality of these laws.
- 13.
Documentary Credit and Standby Letter of Credit mean any arrangement whereby a bank (the “issuing bank”) acting at the request and on the instructions of a customer (the “applicant”) or on its own behalf is to make a payment to or to the order of a third party (the “beneficiary”) or authorizes another bank to effect such payment against stipulated documents, provided that the terms and conditions of the credit are complied with. Cf. art. 2 of the Uniform Custom and Practice for Documentary Credits (UCP 500), 1993 revision.
- 14.
This is the first step taken in all of the judicial cases analyzed in this study. Characterization, also called classification, means “the allocation of the question rose by the factual situation before the court to its correct legal category … ” (North & Fawcett, 1992, p. 44).
- 15.
The international character of the contract is given by the place of business of one of the parties: the Plaintiff was located abroad, in Canada (Lorenzo Idiarte, 2002).
- 16.
Although not applicable to the case, the judge seemed to follow the criteria set up by Article 9 of the CISG.
- 17.
In a different case, the Supreme Court of Justice of Argentina (CSJN) sustained the applicability of the UCP, which “is applicable to the case by virtue of the autonomy of the parties and also by virtue of the custom and practice of documentary credits (Articles 207 y 218 inc. 6 Code of Commerce).” CSJN, 23/03/04, in re Equipamientos Mecánicos Damcar Limitada v. Empresa Transporte Nihuil.
- 18.
Compare how the customary rule is introduced in this case with cases nos. 3 and 4 below.
- 19.
In addition, it should be noted that the Court supported its arguments with five references to the legal literature on the matter against eight references to judicial precedents.
- 20.
Cf. Article 815 Procedural Code for Commercial and Civil Matters of the Province of Tucuman.
- 21.
Compare this interpretation of Article 19 of the National Constitution to the interpretation provided in Chap. 2.
- 22.
Also compare this argument with the criteria of Article 9 of CISG.
- 23.
Note also the link between the autonomy of the parties and customary law and how the Court also introduced a second argument to justify the decision – the autonomy of the parties – as in Case 1 above.
- 24.
However, the Court did prove them.
- 25.
See supra note 14.
- 26.
Compare the very similar way of reasoning in the previous case (Sect. 3.1).
- 27.
For a brief explanation of the concept of letters of credit, see supra note 12.
- 28.
The internationality of the contract is given by the place of business of the Plaintiff, which was located abroad. See also supra note 14.
- 29.
It should be noted that there was no recourse to the autonomy of the parties. This approach to usages and customs was, in a different case, also upheld by the Supreme Court of Justice of Argentina. The Supreme Court explained the nature of the arbitration and the reasons that may lead the parties to choose arbitration as a way to solve their disputes. Among these reasons, the Supreme Court claimed that “sometimes parties look for a different way to solve their dispute, parties do not wish that the case be solved according to the law enacted by the State, which is the law that national judges should apply. Parties wish to apply a different law, a corporative law, based on the usages of trade or international lex mercatoria, which is different from national law.” Vote of Judges Petrachi and Bossert, cons. 4. CSJN, 29/04/97, in re Blanco, Guillermo y otro c. Petroquímica Bahía Blanca y otro s/ordinario.
- 30.
Compare this way of reasoning with the reasoning process in Case 1; see Sect. 3.1.
- 31.
This article allows the application of usages and customs but only secundum legem or praeter legem.
- 32.
By contrast, this issue was addressed by the judge of Case 2.
- 33.
Compare how in the two previous cases (1 and 2) the judges discussed whether these conditions were met, and there was a procedural (production of evidence) and argumentative effort to demonstrate the existence and validity of the customary rule that would be applicable. It should be noted, however, that the conditions that a customary rule has to meet to be considered a “legal rule” are not required by any law but just by the doctrine.
- 34.
This is, in general, an approach of international arbitration cases.
- 35.
The Court seemed to apply the principle of iura novit curia and to switch the burden of the proof: a customary norm is valid until the contrary is proven. Incidentally, it is interesting to note the nine references to the legal literature included in the decision, as supportive arguments, against just one reference to a precedent case. In contrast, in cases 1 and 2 (see Sects. 3.1 and 3.2), the judges seemed to rely more upon the previous case law rather than on the legal literature to support their arguments.
- 36.
Still, the process that leads judges to choose one law instead of other possible applicable laws is complex and controversial (Ariza, 2004).
- 37.
It is possible to recall here that the already quoted Article 34 (Duties of Judges) of the CPCCN establishes that judges shall “4) Base all definitive or interim sentences, under subpoena of nullity, according to the hierarchy of the norms in force and the principle of consistency.” Usages and customs are “norms in force.”
- 38.
See Chap. 2.
- 39.
See also the Preliminary Title of the Code of Commerce and Articles 207, 218, and 219.
- 40.
See Chap. 2. This way of thinking was followed in another case by the Camara Nacional Comercial, sala A, 10/07/07, in re Banco Central de la República Argentina c. Casa Beato de A. A. Beato e hijos s. ordinario.
- 41.
This is an internal or domestic case, as the places of business of both parties are located in Argentina.
- 42.
Note the reference to “local usages.”
- 43.
This is also a commercial court; see Chap. 2 and Sect. 3.3.
- 44.
For the criteria of internationality, see supra note 14. The UNCITRAL model law on international commercial arbitration allowed the internationalization of the case by the will of the parties. Following this model, the arbitration laws of Brazil, Paraguay, Chile, and Bolivia seem also to allow the application of foreign law and international commercial law to domestic cases; see supra note 11. Incidentally, as in Case 3, there are in this case only three references to previous case law against six references to doctrine.
- 45.
It should be stressed that this is the analysis of just four different cases from which it would be very difficult to infer any kind of trend, let alone a general rule. To determine such a trend or general rule, a more extensive research would be needed.
- 46.
In Case 1, the civil judge applied “international usages” to an international contract; in Case 2, the civil judge applied national usages to a national contract. Both judges, however, followed the same methodology and reasoning to determine the content of the customary rule. In Case 3, the commercial judge applied “international commercial usages” to international commercial contracts, while in Case 4 the judge applied “international commercial usages” to a national contract. Again, the methodology, the reasoning, and way of finding the content of the rule were similar.
- 47.
See Chap. 2.
References
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ABN Amro Bank c. Oscar Guerrero S.A. s. demanda. Cámara Civil y Comercial de Rosario, sala III, 24/12/02. Available at http://fallos.diprargentina.com/2008/05/abn-amro-bank-c-oscar-guerrero-2.html. Accessed on 25 September 2008.
ABN Amro Bank c. Oscar Guerrero S.A. s. demanda. Juzgado Civil y Comercial no. 12 de la ciudad de Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina, 01/02/01.Available at http://fallos.diprargentina.com/2008/05/abn-amro-bank-c-oscar-guerrero-1.html. Accessed on 25 September 2008.
Banco Central de la República Argentina c. Casa Beato de A. A. Beato e hijos s. ordinario. Camara Nacional Comercial, sala A, 10/07/07. Published in RDCO 228, 167, con nota de A. A. Menicocci.
Banco Velox v. Banco Sudecor Litoral S.A. Corte Suprema de Justicia de Tucumán, sala Civil y Penal, 01/03/2005. La Ley Noroeste (LLNOA) 2005 (mayo), 684 – IMP 2005-A, 1631 y Lexis No. 35001673.
Blanco, Guillermo y otro c. Petroquímica Bahía Blanca y otro s/ordinario. CSJN, 29/04/97, Published in El Derecho (ED), 174–286.
Equipamientos Mecánicos Damcar Limitada v. Empresa Transporte Nihuil. Corte Suprema de Justicia de la Nación (CSJN), 23/03/04, Published in Fallos 327:645.
Global Packaging Solutions S.A. v. Banco de Galicia y Buenos Aires SA. Cámara Nacional Comercial, sala A, 27/03/07. Published in SJA 13/02/08 con nota de M. F. Cortalezzi y M. E. Allo. Available also at http://fallos.diprargentina.com/2007/07/global-packaging-solutions-sa-c-banco.html.
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Statutory Law
Civil and Commercial Procedural Code, Law no. 17454 of 1981, modified in 2001, Article 163.
Civil Code of Argentina, Law no. 340 of 1871.
Code of Commerce of Argentina, Preliminary Title Articles 8, 207, 218, and 219, and 450.
Convention on International Sales of Goods (CISG) 1980, Article 9.
Law 7055 of 1974 of the Province of Santa Fe, Article 1.3.
Ley de Sociedades Comerciales No. 19550 of 1972.
National Constitution of Argentina, Articles 17, 18, and 19.
Procedural Code for Commercial and Civil Matters of the Province of Tucuman, Article 815.
Real Cedula de Erección del Consulado de Buenos Ayres Expedida en Aranjuez a XXX de Enero de MDCCXCIV.
Uniform Custom and Practice for Documentary Credits (UCP 500), 1993 revision.
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Giménez Corte, C. (2010). Transnational Law, Between Ius Mercatorum and Ius Civile . In: Jemielniak, J., Miklaszewicz, P. (eds) Interpretation of Law in the Global World: From Particularism to a Universal Approach. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-04886-9_17
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