Summary lecture 1, international business law

What is law:

The body of rules and regulations that govern the activities of persons within a country/jurisdiction.  Those rules govern conducts of actors in a society. Laws create rights, obligations, facilitating co-existence and co-operations. Procedures are also enforced when the law is breached.

You have: national law (only applicable between borders), EU law and International law

why do wo focus on English law?

• We have to pick one
• English law is pro-business and adapted to foreign parties
• Global reach of English law
• Sector dominance of English law
• High degree of certainty and predictability
• Flexibility of common law

Legal rules in place influence what business can do or how they go about doing it:

• What to build and sell
• How to fund a product
• How to product what they make
• How to behave toward and in relation to others

Business decisions:

• Competition law
• Contracts
• Intellectual property
• Torts
• Company law
• International trade
• Dispute resolution

How do legal, moral and social duties overlap?

Legal vs. moral, legal vs. social and moral vs. social. Also can the law be morally justified

Talking about national law, public law is about:

Individual on the one hand and on the other hand the state

Private law:

Between individuals

A legal system: the body of institutions that make, execute and resolve disputes on the law of jurisdiction  together with the law they deal with. Two major systems: common law and civil law

Sources of national law:

1. Legalisation: primary legislation/act of parliament (statutes) and are made by the parliament. The parliament is the supreme law-making body in the UK, it has the power to make any statues on any subject matter and British courts are bound to enforce the laws and cannot question their validity. Delegated legislation are made by other bodies that Parliament and have the power to make delegated legislation that is given by Parliament. Bodies that are given the power to pass delegated legislation can only pass laws within the limited power given to them under the enabling act. Delegated legislation going beyond the power of the enabling Act is said to be ultra vires and can be invalidated by the courts. For advantages and disadvantages of delegation legalisation see picture below
2. Case law/common law. In case a judge gives the actual decision, gives her legal reasons for making the decision based on the material facts (ration decidendi). May discuss the law generally and give some hypothetical situations (obiter dictum). Doctrine of precedent:An authoritative and binding decision in a case used to decide a later case with broadly similar facts. Judges of lower courts must apply the legal rules set down by higher courts (or courts of the same status) in earlier cases where the facts are similar). But only if:

• If it is a proposition of the law
• Part of the ration decidendi of the earlier case
• Decided in a court binding on the present courts
• There are no relevant factual distinctions between the two cases

3. European Union law. Primary EU Law) Based on Treaties: are agreements between countries. For example treaty of Rome (1957) which set up the European communities). Primary overrules secondary law. Secondary law: regulations (have a direct force in member states from their creation without member states having to pass their own implementing legislation and aim to produce uniformity of law throughout the EU. Directives: statements of policy that require member states to alter their national laws so that they conform to the directive within a specified time. Seek to harmonise the law in member states. Instruct member states to accomplish a certain goal but allows each member state to choose how that is achieves. Decisions: an issue may be brought before the European Council or commission for its consideration. The decisions of the institutions are binding on the states, persons or companies to whom they are addresses. Note decision do not have a general binding force on other states, persons or companies. Direct applicability: Eu legal acts are automatically incorporated into domestic law as soon as they are past, but not all of them will be directly effective. Direct effect: legal acts that can be relied on in a domestic courts are said to have a direct effect. Vertical direct effect: a provision imposes legal obligations upon member states that can be enforced by persons. Horizontal direct effect:  imposes legal obligation that be enforced by other persons. Supremacy of the Eu law: directly applicable or effective Eu laws takes precedence over domestic laws of member states and domestic laws that are incompatible with Eu law will have to be changed
4. International law: public international law: rules governing relations between states and the establishment and operations of international organisations. Sources:

• International conventions
• Customary international law
• General principles and judicial decisions
• Teachings of the most highly qualified publicists