Legal innovations follow new commercial practices as they arise.
Evidence
The Law Merchant and related legal codes evolved considerably over time. In addition to providing a court of law especially suited for merchants, it fostered significant legal developments that reduced the transaction costs of exchange (North, 1989, ch. 13). As agency relationships became common - whether between partners in different locations or between a sedentary merchant who financed a traveling one - a new set of rules governing these agreements was required. The same also held for the new practices of credit agreements and insurance. — PAUL R. MILGRO, PAUL R. MILGRO - THE ROLE OF…, 33
Categorization
- XREF: Connects to work on institutional economics (North), where institutions reduce transaction costs as markets develop. — connects to: Commercial law developed before states enforced contracts at scale. — PAUL R. MILGRO, PAUL R. MILGRO - THE ROLE OF…, 22; The common law adapts to social and economic change — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 1311; Technological change forces courts to extend old statutes to unanticipated situations. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1421 (+4 more)
Related
- Commercial law shifted from merchants to broad market participants (similarity 0.83)
- The common law adapts to social and economic change (similarity 0.79)
Broader Connections
- The common law adapts to social and economic change
#corroborates(0.88) — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 1311