Law Commons^™

Soft Law And The Principle Of Fair And Equitable Decisionmaking In International Contract Arbitration, Larry Dimatteo

Larry A DiMatteo

This article provides a survey of the special relationship between international commercial arbitration and soft law instruments. It briefly traces the historical roots of the lex mercatoria to its present enunciation in the Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) and the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts. It discusses the characteristic of the hardness and softness of laws in an international commercial law context. The CISG is studied not only as a hard law, but also as an example of soft law. The affinity between soft law and international commercial arbitration is explored, as well as …

An All Of The Above Theory Of Legal Development, Larry A. Dimatteo

Larry A DiMatteo

This paper reviews different theories of legal development in order to highlight their similarities and differences. In the end, as in contract theories, no monist view of legal development possesses the explanatory power needed to understand how law has come to be and where it may take us in the future. What we do have is a foundation built on at least two millennia of legal history. The intellectual starting point for this project is Nathan Isaacs’ unfinished work on a cycle theory of legal development. His view of legal development takes issue with Henry Sumner Maine’s thesis that development …

An ‘All Of The Above’ Theory Of Legal Development, Larry A. Dimatteo

Larry A DiMatteo

The paper provides a brief background of Nathan Isaacs, his work, and his theory of legal development. Invariably, when analyzing Isaacs’ claim that history proves that law developments in cycles (status to contract to status) the role of Jewish legal history in the development of his thought will play an important role in understanding his theory. Isaacs’ was that rare scholar knowledgeable in the common law, as well as, civil law. A pragmatic realist, as well as a devote Jew. He was a legal historian and very much a man of the present. He possessed a Ph.D. in Economics, and …

An 'All Of The Above' Theory Of Legal Development (Revised), Larry A. Dimatteo

Larry A DiMatteo

The paper provides a brief background of Nathan Isaacs, his work, and his theory of legal development. Invariably, when analyzing Isaacs’ claim that history proves that law developments in cycles (status to contract to status) the role of Jewish legal history in the development of his thought will play an important role in understanding his theory. Isaacs’ was that rare scholar knowledgeable in the common law, as well as, civil law. A pragmatic realist, as well as a devote Jew. He was a legal historian and very much a man of the present. He possessed a Ph.D. in Economics, and …

Justice, Employment, And The Psychological Contract, Larry Dimatteo, Robert Bird, Jason Colquitt

Larry A DiMatteo

The paper is a multidisciplinary collaboration between contract law, employment law and management scholars and draws from the fields of law, management, and psychology. After reviewing and noting the gaps in the employment and justice literatures, this paper presents the findings of a survey of 763 participants to measure whether certain variables—procedural and substantive fairness, as well as educating employees on the principle of employment at will—impact the propensities of employees to retaliate and litigate at the time of discharge.

The survey results are significant and striking. We find statistically significant reductions in retaliation and litigation rates when survey respondents …

Comparative Efficiency In Internatonal Sales Law, Larry A. Dimatteo, Daniel Ostas

Larry A DiMatteo

The article employs the method of the economic analysis of law (EAL) in a comparative context. In particular, it assesses the efficiency of select provisions of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). The CISG is the law of the United States and over 70 other countries. It reflects a culmination of a century-old process of failed attempts to achieve an international sales law. The drafting process involved intense negotiation and compromise between representatives of the common and civil law legal traditions. As a result, the CISG provides in an interesting amalgam of civil …

Comparative Efficiency In International Sales Law, Larry A. Dimatteo, Daniel T. Ostas

Larry A DiMatteo

The article employs the method of the economic analysis of law (EAL) in a comparative context. In particular, it assesses the efficiency of select provisions of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). The CISG is the law of the United States and over 70 other countries. It reflects a culmination of a century-old process of failed attempts to achieve an international sales law. The drafting process involved intense negotiation and compromise between representatives of the common and civil law legal traditions. As a result, the CISG provides in an interesting amalgam of civil …

Policing Limited Liability Companies Under Contract Law, Larry Dimatteo

Larry A DiMatteo

In 2004, Delaware amended its limited liability company law (Delaware Act) to allow for the contractual elimination of fiduciary duties. The statute seeks to emphasize the contract basis of limited liability companies (LLCs). It does this by providing the legal support for the incorporation of clauses that eliminate the traditional duties of care and loyalty (elimination clauses) found in corporate, agency, and trust law. The only immutable principle enunciated by the Delaware Act is the covenant of good faith. The primary focus of this paper will be on the ability of contract law to police the management and operation of …