The interpretation of the commerce clause by the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court today interprets the commerce clause as a complete grant of power. The Tenth Amendment is no longer viewed as a reservation of certain subjects for state regulation. Once the justices began to define the commerce power as an independent grant of power rather than in terms of the Tenth Amendment，the production-commerce and direct-indirect distinctions soon passed away. The Court now will defer to the legislature s choice of economic rationale； the possible economic impact of an activity on commerce among the states will bring it within this power. Thus the old concepts of physical connection to commerce and the“current of commerce”theories have been discarded as inappropriate judicial restrictions on the commerce power. The Court has finally returned to Marshall s definition of commerce among the states as that which concerns more states than one. The justices will defer to the legislative choices in this area and uphold laws if there is a rational basis upon which Congress could find a relation between its regulation and commerce.
Uniform Commercial Code
In the interestof uniformity and reform， the legal profession， under the leadership of the American Law Institute， has suggested comprehensive codes of laws to be adopted by the states. The most important of these for business is the Uniform Commercial Code（ UCC） . Other uniform laws have been developed for partnership， corporate， and probate among others， but the most ambitious uniform act of all is the Uniform Commercial Code.
The National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws and the American Law Institute sponsored and directed the preparation of the Uniform Commercial Code. These two organizations were assisted by literally hundreds of law professors， businesspersons， judges， and lawyers. The work on the UCC began in1942， and the finished draft was completed in 1952. All 50 states and the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands have adopted the Uniform Commercial Code in whole or in part. Louisiana has adopted only Articles1， 3， 4， and 5. The UCC consists of 10 articles：①General Provisions；②Sales；③Commercial Paper；④Bank Deposits and Collections；⑤Letters of Credit；⑥Bulk Transfers；⑦Documents of Title；⑧Investment Securities；⑨Secured Transactions；⑩Effective Date and Repealer.
When each of the states adopted the code， it repealed numerous statutes， such as the Uniform Sales Act， the Uniform Bills of Lading Act， the Uniform Warehouse Receipts Act， the Uniform Negotiable Instruments Act， the Uniform Conditional Sales Act， the Uniform Trust Receipts Act， the Uniform Stock Transfer Act， the Bulk Sales Act， and the Factors Lien Act.
The code dose not greatly change the basic principles of commercial law derived from the law merchant and common law， but instead it expands and codifies them in order to modernize， clarify， standardize， and liberalize the rules. The code also helps to clarify the legal relationship of the parties in modern commercial transactions. The code is designed to help determine the intentions of the parties to a commercial contract and to give force and effect to their agreement. The code further is meant to encourage business transactions by assuring businesspersons that their contracts， if validly entered into， will be enforced.
transaction /tr n z kn/n. 交易；办理；会报，学报；事务
compass / k mp s/n.指南针，罗盘；圆规；范围vt.包围
principal / prins p l/n.本人；委托人；责任的主要承担者
marine /m ri n/adj.海生的；航海的n.（海军）士兵或军官；海运业
tribe /traib/n.部落；宗族；一伙
brevity / brev ti/n.短暂，短促；简洁，简短
adjudication / d u di kei n/n.破产之宣告；判决；裁定
federalism / fed r liz m/n.联邦主义；联邦制
legislature / led isleit/n.立法机关；立法机构
sponsor / sp ns /n.保证人；赞助者；主办者vt.赞助；发起
provision /pr u vin/n.供应品；条款；规定vt.供给食物及必需品
repealer /ri pi l /n.废止者；撤销者
i nterstate com m erce[经]州际贸易，州际商业；美国的州际贸易
Uniform Commercial Code统一商法典》
Occupational Safety and Health Act《职业安全与健康法》
Nati onalConference of Com m i ssi oners统一州法委员会
pol i ce power警察权，治安权，一般公共权力
Uniform Bills of Lading Act《统一提单法》
Uniform Warehouse Receipts Act《统一仓库收据法》
Uniform Negotiable Instruments Act《统一流通票据法》
Uniform Conditional Sales Act《统一附条件买卖法》
Uniform Trust Receipts Act《统一信托收据法》
Uniform Stock Transfer Act《统一股票转让法》
GeneralProvi si ons总则
com m erci alpaper商业票据；流通票据；商业本票
l etters of credi t信用证；信用状
docum ents of ti tl e物权凭证
i nvestm entsecuri ti es投资证券
secured transacti ons担保交易
1.olice power （治安权，一般公共权力） ： Police power is the capacity of a state to egulate behaviors and enforce order within its territory， often framed in terms of public elfare， security， health， and safety. Police power is legally considered an inherent ower， limited only by prohibitions specified in the constitution of a state， making it the ost expansive authorized power exercised by a state. The concept of police power （ or imply“police”） in English common law dates back at least four centuries and roughly oincides with the breakdown of the feudal order in Europe and thedevelopment of towns and cities.
2. ommercial paper （商业票据；流通票据；商业本票） ： In the global money market， ommercial paper is an unsecured promissory note with a fixed maturity of 1 to 270 days. Commercial paper is a money-market security issued by large banks and corporations to get money to meetshort termdebt obligations （ for example， payroll） ， and is only backed by an issuing bank or corporation s promise to pay the face amount on the maturity date specified on the note. Since it is not backed by collateral， only firms with excellent credit ratings from a recognized rating agency will be able to sell their commercial paper at a reasonable price. Commercial paper is usually sold at a discount from face value， and carries shorter repayment dates than bonds. Typically， the longer the maturity on a note， the higher the interest rate the issuing institution must pay. Interest rates fluctuate with market conditions， but are typically lower than banks rates.
