The History of the Uniform Commercial Code
The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) is a comprehensive code that addresses most aspects of commercial law in the US and its territories. The UCC was published in 1952 by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) and the American Law Institute (ALI). Its publication sought to harmonize laws across the states because commercial transactions may often extend beyond state jurisdictions (Hamoudi 116). Business people and commercial lawyers among other parties need to be aware of UCC provisions that are applicable in the states in which they operate. Discussing the history of the UCC can help shed light on important aspects such as its rationales and development over the years.
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The UCC as a statutory program operated under the law of legalization, administration, and recording of contracts and lien instruments (Miller and Boss 1-2). In addition to standardizing business laws across the US and seeking uniformity across the states, it entails a set of laws providing legal rules for governing commercial or business transactions and dealings. In terms of application, the code functions mainly as a guideline with recommendations, rather than a legal provision in itself, detailing a set of laws that states can adopt across various areas of commercial transactions. As a result, the UCC only has legal effect in a given state only after it has been adopted by the state, which makes it part of the statutes governing commerce in the state. As of 2016, all the 50 states of the US have adopted the code, albeit with variations (Miller and Boss …show more content…
The competing visions arose between academic reformers and the representatives of business, with the two groups disagreeing on certain aspects. The academic reformers sought a code that would create a regulated commerce system entailing a modern and efficient commercial law. Such a law would be based on good business practices, with judicial oversight replacing unregulated private agreement and antiquated formal laws. Their vision was to establish a code promoting efficient commerce through removing factors that impeded mass production and mass distribution, with merchants operating under trade norm controls, legislative dictate, and judicial supervision (374). On the other hand, the representatives of business stood against some of the reformist agendas of the former group. Although they agreed on the need for an efficient and modernized statute, they opposed the aspect of regulation during the development of the UCC. This group envisioned autonomy amid the efficient and modern system, agitating against the regulation of business freedom by judges, statutes, or trade group oversight. By 1949, the date that early drafters had hoped to approve the code, elements of regulation persisted, as exemplified by consumer and small merchant protection. Compromise on the part of the two groups that retained certain elements and dropped