Practice Areas

International Commercial Law is the branch of law that regulates trade activities between countries. This branch of law covers many different topics such as international commercial contracts, commercial rules, trade documents, transaction processes and commercial disputes. International commercial law consists of rules in three different fields of law: private law, public law and public international law. The development of international commercial law is examined in three stages from the Middle Ages to the present day. The first stage is a type of customary law, called lex mercatoria (law of merchants), which is applied to the relationship between merchants who trade. This type of law has five basic features, such as being international, its main source is commercial practices, the practice of merchants rather than judges, the principle of equity at its core, and the fact that it has gained a universal character with notarial activities. The second phase took place in the 18th and 19th centuries. At this stage, it is seen that international commercial relations are regulated by domestic law rules with the effect of the nation-state structure. However, the basic principles of the lex mercatoria, such as freedom of contract and the right to property, were also preserved during this period. The third stage took place within the new economic order formed after World War II.

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 At this stage, public barriers to international trade were tried to be removed. At the forefront of these public barriers are non-tariff barriers such as customs duties and standards. International commercial law offers a variety of methods to resolve legal issues related to trade. One of them is arbitration. Arbitration is an alternative dispute resolution method that parties can use to resolve commercial disputes. By leaving the resolution of the dispute to an independent and impartial third party (arbitrator), the parties aim to get away from the courts and get a faster and more flexible result. International trade law also sets standards for many different elements of trade. For example, INCOTERMS 2020, published by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), establishes the delivery and risk transfer rules used in international trade. These rules help to conduct trade all over the world in a more understandable and standardized way.