imperium trade law

[jasper]

I let far trader and others do links to other law topics
But what would be the min. laws to allow free trade across the empire. I throw up some random thoughts

1. Lemon laws similiar to the lemon car laws in the U.S.A.
2.Claritity of weights and measures. THis is from my bus law class years ago. The case was base on the difference U.s.a ton and british or eurporain ton. There is a few hundred pounds difference. So what appear to be a deal in one measure is not in another. I think the imp law would hold the higher Tech level party responsible of making clear what weights and measures are being used if the standard of 1 kilo at sea level of 1 Earth gravity is not used on the either planet. Ex 1.4 grav world shipping to .75 world
3. Tech level restrictions. I don't see the Imps restriciting importing anything of high tech levels to major lower tl worlds. Ex apple note books and ipods to Edward the first or even longshanks court. Except in regard to weapons. possiblity either a total ban. No selling m60s and aks to Henry V on October 1 1415. But would allow spring steel suits armour and high grade steel /techno steel swords to the French on October 2.
4. Purity laws. No selling forified wine with corn liquer with out saying it has corn products in it. Or yes the Kkree krispy krucher snacks sold by Far Trader must contain a readable with out small print label which list msg, Kkree killer hay, and all the coloring agents including ground stain glass. Similar to law just past by congress.
5. common lanquage contracts similiar to some of common law admendment debates. Instead the standard lawyer gobble gook on a law or contract all the whereas and party of first party etc would be drop. So Trader Jim agrees to sell Far trader 10 dtons of Kkree Juice delivery on x date with exception of late delievery. 2 or 3 copies would be made 3 if Hunter is overseeing the transfer to make sure the trade is lawful and all 3 people don't speak write same lang. So Jim would create a contract which instead the party of first has trader jim in place. Agrees to deliever to Far trader party of the second part the xdtons of juice.
6. Punishments. What penalities are there against Trader jim if Far trader screams to Imps and dear Hunter has to rule on the case. Can Hunter rule Jimmy boy took advantage of far trader so Trader Jim must cough free any charges and free any delays and extra 2 and half cases of Kkree juice to settle the matter or shall we just shoot the dear ole Trader Jim for pulling his wordy jargon 300+ page contract in pitch 5 font which once a lawyer review the contract and it basically said Jim boy would not be have to deliever the product for any reason.

 

[Elliot]

I take the view that the only law of trade in the Imperium is caveat emptor!

 

[Psion]

I rather think that the Imperium's laws would be phrased stressed at keeping the "lifeblood of the imperium" flowing. So you might find laws explicitly phrased to prevent abuses that would result in economic damage to worlds and/or that would tend to reduce trade or progress (could include anti-monopoly and fair trade laws.)

 

[robject]

And don't forget that the rules of trade at the core is likely to have different 'unwritten rules' than the frontier -- both will have their own unspoken ways of doing business, both quite different. One formalized and proper, the other a bit more caveat emptorish, perhaps.

 

[flykiller]

I rather think that the Imperium's laws would be phrased stressed at keeping the "lifeblood of the imperium" flowing. So you might find laws explicitly phrased to prevent abuses

well, if by that you mean they take on the role of "quality control inspector", it would be an incredible legal nightmare for shippers and an endless meal ticket for lawyers. the imperium rules the space between the stars, not toilet flush tank sizes. have to say caveat emptor is the only doable method.

 

[jchurchill]

"have to say caveat emptor is the only doable method."

Actually, a review of history and trading practices in the real world shows that caveat emptor is the biggest destroyer of trade. One of the earliest remedies created in Roman law was redhibition. [a form of warranty of merchantability originally applied to slaves and livestock but subsequently expanded to the sale of all goods.]

If you want an arcane and unreadable system that appears to have been drafted by Imperial bureaucrats then you can't do better than the Uniform Commercial Code which is in use in 49 of 50 states in the US.

http://www2.law.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/foliocgi.exe/ucc2/query=[jump!3A!272!2D106!27]/doc/{@20}?

For intersteller trade I would recommend downloading the rules of the international Carriage of Goods by Sea Convention AKA "COGSA"
[in my universe I have changed this to Carriage of Goods By Space]
http://www.jus.uio.no/lm/un.sea.carriage.hamburg.rules.1978/doc#6

 

[jchurchill]

"Claritity of weights and measures. THis is from my bus law class years ago. The case was base on the difference U.s.a ton and british or eurporain ton. There is a few hundred pounds difference. So what appear to be a deal in one measure is not in another."

That's merely the classic nightmare of all 1st year contracts classes -- the failure to have a meeting of the minds. There is a famous case about 2 19th century sailing ships named Peerless and shipping of cotton from India to England. The contract specified shipped on the Peerless but 2 ships named Peerless left India at different times and meanwhile the price of cotton plummetted. The buyer then tried to back out of the contract claiming that there was no agreement becasue of the confusion over which Peerless was which.

 

[jchurchill]

"common lanquage contracts similiar to some of common law admendment debates. Instead [of] the standard lawyer gobble[dy] gook on a law or contract all the whereas and party of first party etc would be drop[ped]."

The most litigated contracts are usually the ones drawn up by laypeople who get everything tangled up in ambiguities.

 

[Ben W Bell]

Do remember though that only one or two Imperial laws apply on member worlds, all laws within the world are their own to make so trade contracts drawn up on a world would be under that worlds laws and not any others. Something would only be illegal if that worlds laws allowed for it. The Third Imperium has no jurisdiction over a planets trade. All Imperial trading laws are for the allowance of free trade between star systems, stopping piracy and preventing planets from forming alliances with each other.

 

[BetterThanLife]

Hey there are several Imperial Trade laws. No use of Weapons of mass destruction, particularily Nukes. (Aren't most wars, at least fundamentaly about trade.) No fragging with the Imperial Navy Supply lines. And most importantly the Golden Rule, he who has the gold makes the rules. What other trade laws do you need?

 

[jchurchill]

Hey there are several Imperial Trade laws. No use of Weapons of mass destruction, particularily Nukes. (Aren't most wars, at least fundamentaly about trade.)
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Laws barring the use of certain weapons aren't really trade laws though. It's more a "laws of war" issue. If the Imperium barred sale of nuclear weapons between planets then that would be a trade law.

All societies need commmercial laws to protect trade. The issue for game purposes is how detailed do these laws need to be.

 

[flykiller]

All societies need commmercial laws to protect trade. The issue for game purposes is how detailed do these laws need to be.

indeed. perhaps a distinction should be made between trade law and trade litigation. the imperium may have an interest in whether nukes from planet x appear on planet y, and violations result in simple confiscation. that doesn't mean that it has an interest in litigating planet x's complaint that trader a acted on broker b's (of planet y) recommendation that certain toilet seats met planet x's strict criteria etc etc etc. does any referee really want to get into that? does any player want to role play that?

 

[Elliot]

When law is discussed in Traveller it always boils down to criminal law - i.e. nasty referee syndrome. And why not...after all its a game.

Real Life international trade law (i.e. what was once called the law merchant) is essentially about property and risk - when does does title to the good pass and thus the risk that the goods will not reach port or will perish in transit.

The commercial logic behind this is that the party who the law defines as having title must insure against the risk. That is what in law is meant by commercial certainty. A buys a cargo crate full of widgets from B. A is defined in law as having ownership and thus risk at a certain time, A can insure from that point on.

In modern shipping a number of legal contracts of carriage have developed, the most common are:

Free on Board (FOB) - The risk passes when the standard commercial documents such as the bill of lading, bill of exchange, customs verification, export licence and commercial invoice are delivered with the goods to the carrier of the buyer's nomination. Therefore risk is with the seller until the cargo is loaded onto the carrier's ship. Thereafter, its the buyer's problem.

A variation of this is Free on Side - risk passes from buyer to seller when the cargo container is deposited at the side of the carrier ship

Cost, Insurance, Freight (CIF) - The seller must pay for the freight costs (i.e. the carrier), must provide a valid certificate of insurance and provide the necessary documents such as certificate of customs inspection, bill of lading, etc. Risk passes when the cargo is unloaded from the ship and the packet of commercial documents is accepted (Incidently, canon Traveller has interstellar insurance: Lloyds of London appear in early JTAS and Hortlez at Cie are big in insurance).

Modern carriage is also based on the documents and not on the cargo. The contract is complete when the documents are accepted, not when the nice toys inside the containers are unpacked. This allows the cargo to be sold many times in transit, merely by selling the documents. If the goods turn out to be rubbish then the last document holder sues the person below him and so on.

Because documents can usually travel faster than freight, the documents are usually sent before the freight arrives (or in fact is sent) and signed if the paper work is in order. This is the contract not the arrival of the goods. In Traveller, this may be an explanation for the odd X boat routes - i.e. they take into account the freight offices of trading companies. The X boat 'mail' package is often the documents of trade (well, its possible).

In all this the carrier (i.e. the Free Trader acting under a charterparty) only has to get the goods to the port. He is not the owner, nor does he care what is in the containers so long as the paperwork is in order.

The old Traveller chestnut - what happens if a Free Trader carries what purports to be machine tool parts but really is a load of FGMPs is really of no consequence to modern trade (and I suggest interstellar trade) as the carrier has nothing to do with the cargo, except carry it.

Cargo containers have 'seals' and interference with the seal of a cargo container voids the contract and makes the carrier liable.

This sort of trade law was developed by the 18 Century - when travel took as long as it does in Traveller and nation states were as disparate as Traveller worlds, I would therefore postulate that such laws do exist, even if as a body of rules adhered to by the main mercantile houses.

 

[flykiller]

The old Traveller chestnut - what happens if a Free Trader carries what purports to be machine tool parts but really is a load of FGMPs is really of no consequence to modern trade (and I suggest interstellar trade) as the carrier has nothing to do with the cargo, except carry it.

now that's helpful to a referee. thanks.

 

[jasper]

hmmm two peerlesses. Guess my adventurers are going to get a surprise bonus cargo.

 

[jchurchill]

Elliot's points are well taken and worth considering. If you are running a merchant game the general priniciples he outlines are worth incorporating into your game.

 

[aramis]

IMTU, the only "Imperial Trade law" concerns shipping rates and measures, annd fair labelling. Nothing about merchantability, fitness, etc.

Local multi-world polities form specifically to enforce local trade rules... and because some baron realised it was a quick way to become a viscount!

 

[jchurchill]

One or two minor points -- CIF, FAS, FOB et al. are often just terms of a particular contract of carriage found in bills of lading. A negotiable bill of lading might solve the need to forward the paperwork prior to the cargo. Negotiable bills of lading act as receipts but also convey title to the purchaser. In any event these bits tend to add some realism and detail to games