Transnational law — a new system of law?

Abstract

The paper presents the emergence and evolution of the concept of transnational law, from the Philip Jessup's 1956 novation to the latest approaches, mainly from the western legal scholarship. In the legal writings from Romania or Republic of Moldova, the phenomenon of transnational law remains unexplored or, at best, mentioned incidental as a synonym of a modern "lex mercatoria". Likewise, in Russian scholarship, research on transnational law bears a strong private imprint and ubiquitous reluctance may be noted. This article aims to discuss, from the perspective of legal pluralism, the loss of the state monopoly in law making, the pluralization of sources of legitimacy for transnational actors, and the reconsideration of the scope of the law, by de-territorializing it. Transnational law is seen thus not just a private regime, but as a system of normative law that transcends international or national law, acts in a distinct social space and addresses specific actors, not only private, but also public or hybrid. In Romanian legal knowledge this approach is missing.

Keywords: transnational law, transnational governance, legal pluralism, transnational legal pluralism, lex mercatoria

JEL Classification: K33