Acquis

The term acquis, deriving from French, is used in European Community law to refer to the total body of EC law accumulated so far. The term is also used to describe laws adopted under the Schengen agreement, prior to its integration into the European Union legal order by the Treaty of Amsterdam, in which case one speaks of the 'Schengen acquis'.

The term has also been borrowed by the WTO Appellate Body, in the case Japan - Taxes on Alcoholic Beverages, to refer to the accumulation of GATT and WTO law, though this usage is not well established.