Concept, History and Commercial Law

We explain to you that it is a merchant and the history of the emergence of trade.Commercial law, rights and obligations of the merchant.

The merchant has a series of rights and obligations.

What is a Merchant?

The merchant understands is a person who is engaged in negotiating buying and selling different merchandise such as economic activity, business, trade or profession.Merchants are those who buy products from a a certain price, to later sell it at a higher price and thus obtain a difference, which constitutes the profit.

It may happen that before transformation it has been applied to the good some transformation that provides added value, or directly sold in the same way it was purchased, in which case the function is limited to bringing customers products that, otherwise, they probably would not get.

See also: Foreign Trade.

History of commerce

The emergence of coins ended the need for barter.

The history of trade is not separate from the general economic history of the world (and mainly from its economic systems), and began when ancient civilizations used barter as a way to exchange possessions.

The need to continue exchanging goods even in asymmetric situations determined the emergence of currencies , with which it was no longer necessary for both parties to have something to give to receive a good from the other, since the currency became the pattern that governs these transactions.

On the other hand, the means of transport were evolving and making it possible to trade from one place to another, even over great distances, so that today it is absolutely normal to trade not only internally but also between countries .

There are many factors that have been determining the characteristics of trade and merchants in different parts of the world (regulation or deregulation by the State, new technologies, banking, digitalization of processes, etc.)., the existence of trade is still needed as an exchange of products for money, and for now, the merchant is an essential figure for this.

Commercial Law

Trade is regulated, which gives the merchant a series of rights.

Commercial law is the branch that is dedicated to the study of the legal framework of trade , and considers that the merchants are only the people who routinely (and not occasionally) deal with the activities that the law considers mercantile.The Commercial Codes of the countries are those that establish the particularities, but in many cases the assessments coincide.

The acts of commerce, in our country, are the legal liciticos to constitute or modify commercial obligations between parties.These acts must be carried out on behalf of a person, the intermediaries (such as employees, carriers or managers).

For these transactions, people must possess capacity , and cannot be minors, nor disabled by dementia or by particular diseases, as well as people who occupy a series of charges that are considered Incompatible to trade (magistrates, judges or employees in collection and administration of public funds, for example).

The trade is regulated, which gives the merchant a series of rights but also a number of obligations.The first are guaranteed only based on compliance with the second, and are included in they use accounting books as a means of proof, non-discrimination on the part of regulatory entities, or the ability to request legal agreements with potential creditors.

The commercial obligations in Argentina are the following:

• Registration in the Public Registry of Commerce. so that anyone can access the merchant's background, as well as the solvency, domicile and liability consultation.


• Preservation of all accounting books. so they can Identify individual operations legally, with due detail of figures and statements.


• Preservation of correspondence. that is related to the merchant's turn, not being able to judicially excuse himself for having lost or discarded it.


• Accountability before the law.

Follow in: Commercial law.