Abstract
International trade serves as a cornerstone of the global economy, necessitating comprehensive legal frameworks to regulate cross-border commercial and economic cooperation. The objective of this research is to analyze the structural and functional relationship between hard law and soft law sources in international trade, with the aim of proposing a cohesive global framework capable of reducing legal fragmentation and enhancing the coherence, predictability, and resilience of international trade law. Thereby, this article, categorizes the sources of international trade law into universal (global), regional, and bilateral treaties, while highlighting the growing significance of non-binding soft law instruments. It argues that although formal treaties form the foundational legal structure, the adaptability and effectiveness of international trade law increasingly depend on soft law—flexible norms widely adopted by practitioners that facilitate normative convergence without formal harmonization. The article underscores the role of institutions such as the ICC and UNCITRAL in developing model contracts and trade customs, emphasizing the evolving lex mercatoria’s influence on dispute resolution and contract interpretation. It also examines the practical consequences of fragmentation among international, regional, and national trade regimes —such as overlapping and sometimes conflicting obligations, which in turn produce legal uncertainty, forum shopping, and inconsistent dispute resolution outcomes, increased transaction costs, and diminished enforceability of rights—and argues that a cohesive framework built on coordinated treaty law and harmonized soft law instruments can effectively mitigate these challenges. Through formal-dogmatic and historical-comparative analyses, the article explores how multilateral treaties, international commercial custom, and informal norms collectively shape a transparent, stable, and equitable global trade order. It further clarifies that the strategic aim of this inquiry is to identify pathways toward reducing fragmentation and promoting coherence through a layered approach that integrates both hard and soft law mechanisms. In particular, soft law performs a harmonizing function, bridging gaps between diverse legal systems by fostering voluntary convergence and mutual trust among economic actors. The study concludes that while full unification of international commercial law remains unrealized, ongoing expansion of unified legal instruments and soft law frameworks are crucial not only for reducing fragmentation and legal uncertainty but also for strengthening the stability, inclusiveness, and predictability of the global trade law system.
JEL Classification: K33.
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