Legal Definitions - in re mercatoria

Term:In re mercatoria
Definition: In Scots law, this term refers to documents related to a business transaction that do not require the usual formalities to be legally binding. This is because they are often prepared quickly and by people who may not be familiar with the formalities of legal documents.
Example: A handwritten agreement between two merchants to buy and sell goods would be considered in re mercatoria. Even though it may not have been written on official legal paper or signed in front of a notary, it would still be legally binding because it was made in the course of a business transaction. This is because the law recognizes that in the fast-paced world of business, it is not always practical to follow all the usual formalities of legal documents.