This chapter provides an overview of the nature and sources of commercial law. It explores the definition of commercial law, referencing how it is notoriously difficult to define. Commercial law draws on principles from a number of different areas of jurisprudence, such as contract law, criminal law, and principles from tort, property, equity, and trusts. The key challenge for commercial law is therefore to strike the right balance between the competing principles regardless of how they overlap. The chapter also considers the impact and significance of consumerism, internationalisation, digitalisation, certainty, and good faith on commercial law. It then discusses the role of equity in commercial law.
Chapter
1. The nature and sources of commercial law
Chapter
30. Commercial law
Current state, and future directions?
This chapter considers the current state and future of commercial law. It starts with how the commercial law of England and Wales is the product of a long process of doctrinal development, by courts and Parliament. The structure of commercial law involves the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (SGA), the death of sales, and a new codification. The chapter also looks into the impact of Brexit and digitalisation on commercial law, which includes the emergence of gig economies, sharing economies, and circular economies. It cites how the radicalness of commercial actors' responses to the digital revolution is slowly being matched by legal thinking.
