Standard form contracts as transnational law: evidence from the derivatives markets

This paper uses new research into the derivatives markets to develop our understanding of standard form contracts as transnational law and to show how transnational law theory may be usefully informed by empirical work. Traditionally, it has been assumed that international business communities seek to avoid the courts. However, the paper shows that the national courts play a prominent role in adjudicating disputes involving derivatives. Basing the discussion on the detail of these decisions by the English courts, the paper demonstrates that adjudication does not necessarily undermine widely used standard form contracts, and that it may even reinforce practices that underpin them. This is particularly the case where there is imperfect co-incidence between a trade association's members and a standard form contract's users. Having explored recent cases, the paper reconciles its findings with a more open and imaginative account of the role of national courts within transnational law theory.