Mercatoria Group

The Mercatoria Group’s philosophy has origins in “Lex Mercatoria” or the Law Merchant, which was originally a body of rules and principles laid down by merchants themselves in order to regulate their commercial dealings and which consisted of usages and customs common to merchants and traders in Europe with slightly local differences. The history of the Law Merchant or Lex Mercatoria is therefore really the history of private international law. The exact time and place of the origin of Lex Mercatoria is uncertain although many writers have stated that it began in Italy in the central part of the Middle Ages. Other documentary evidence suggest that Lex Mercatoria goes back even further, for instance to the time when the Arabs dominated the Mediterranean, while other writers further note that many of the terms used by the Arabs at that time came from the Romans, Greeks and Phoenicians, who for many hundreds of years monopolised the sea commerce.

The Group’s approach is founded on the spirit and philosophy of Lex Mercatoria and is today grounded on the use of international commercial legal, accounting, banking and financial practices in solving commercial problems in a globalised market. This approach is further directed at helping our clients achieve with privacy and confidentiality, increased profitability, tax savings, and wealth preservation through the use and establishment of domestic companies, offshore companies, private trust companies, international trusts, foundations, partnerships and other arrangements in all parts of the world.