The European Union, the Member States, and the Lex Mercatoria

The phenomena linked to the "internationalization" and "globalization" of the economy prompt the demand for uniform legal frameworks in supranational governance and encourage forms of "self-regulation". This spontaneous attempt at harmonizing law at the supranational level is often prepared by market forces and comes to add to the classical legal models while leading to the emergence of a new lex mercatoria. The aim of this paper is to analyze the openings of the European system to the transnational production of law identified under the term "new lex mercatoria" by verifying all the factors that allow its sources of law to enter into the European legal order. The division of competences between Member States and European Union in this regard is analyzed as well as all their implications in terms of sources of law. The study addresses the relationship between spontaneous and institutional attempts to regulate the markets, as well as their implications, risks and impact on the national legal system. In fact, even though they relate mainly to commercial transactions, questions linked to the rule of law and protection of rights are involved, which require the reconciling of private and public interests.