Commercial Law

Commercial Law, body of law that relates to commerce and business transactions. Commercial law includes the laws that pertain to sales; negotiable instruments, such as checks and promissory notes; carriage by land and sea; insurance; brokerage; guaranty; and shipping. In the United States commercial law is administered by the same courts that administer other kinds of law. Originally little uniformity in commercial laws existed from one state to another. Attempts were first made in 1896 to create uniformity to facilitate interstate commerce. In 1952 the so-called Uniform Commercial Code was promulgated, and this code has been adopted by many states.