General Average in Genoa: Between Statutes and Customs

AbstractWhen it comes to the development of the rules governing the General Average (GA) procedure, this is usually understood in a "continuity" perspective. Rules and practices seem to converge towards a common approach, at least across the Mediterranean Sea. What risks being lost in this narrative is the variety of local legal systems and the different ways in which the states of the Old Regime regulated the GA institution. This contribution aims to present GA rules and their evolution in the Republic of Genoa from the Middle Ages to the Early Modern Age. In particular, it will focus on mutual influences between the Consulat de Mar and the Genoese customs. Moreover, the information uploaded in the online database AveTransRisk will be used to evaluate the application of the statutory rules in daily practice by shipmasters arriving in the port of Genoa.