Purpose of the law

Purpose of the law

Business Law

 

·         enforceable rules of conduct that govern commercial relationships
- all contracts, employment decisions and payments to suppliers are constrained and protected by business law
- 6 functional areas of business: management, production and transportation, marketing research and development, accounting and finance, and human resources management

 

What is the purpose of the law?

 

·         keep people in their places - enforceable in the courts

 

Classifications of the Law

 

·         Private Law
Public Law
Civil Law
Criminal Law
Cyber Law

 

Private Law

 

·         regulates disputes between private individuals or groups (i.e. storeowner doesn't pay rent to landlord)

 

Public Law

 

·         controls disputes between private individuals/groups against government regulations (i.e. store dumps toxic waste behind building and violates local, state or federal regulations it's taken up in public law)

 

Civil Law

 

-       delineates rights and responsibilities implied in relationships between people and their government and remedies available when rights are violated (Jack and the Box is forced to pay people after serving E. coli and getting them sick)

 

Traditional vs Sociological approach

 

-       Traditional (black and white): follow the law the way it's written (predictable)
- democracy: for the people by the people
- Sociological approach: judge interprets the law, less of a role of democracy
- don't rely on the law, go based on what they think society is telling them to do
- the law was written hundreds of years ago, why follow that?

 

Criminal Law

 

-       regulates incidents in which someone commits an act against the public as a whole (i.e. insider trading)
- insider trading: individual uses insider, or secret, company info to increase his or her own finances or those of family or friends

 

Sources of Business Law

 

-       Constitutional Law
- Statutory Law
- Model or Uniform Laws
- Case Law/Common Law
- Administrative Law

 

Constitutional Law

 

·         general limits and powers of these governments stated in Constitution (rights to the people)
- resolve issues between rights and power of the people and government
- any law that contradicts with the Constitution is invalid

 

Statutory Law

 

·         assortment of rules and regulations (statutes) put by legislatures
- legislative law (federal, state, county, city)
- mostly codes collected and set in place
- created by elected lawmen

 

Model or Uniform Laws

 

·         serve as basis for some statutory law at state level
- National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws: lawyers regularly advocate to have uniform laws (enact model laws)
- Uniform Commercial Code (UCC): sales laws and other regulations affecting commerce (warranties)
- contract stands in every state

 

Case, Judge, and/or Common Law

 

·         connection of legal interpretations made by judges -> law
- same law throughout every area
- appeal: higher court overrules lower court ->binding
- precedent: past decisions in similar cases that guide later decisions -> greater stability and predictability to the law
- Roe v Wade = abortions, Brown v Board of Education, Plessy vs Ferguson = separate but equal
- stare decisis: "standing by their decision" ruling made in higher courts are carried to lower courts

 

Restatements of the Law

 

-       evolve common law (similar to NCC and state laws)

 

Administrative Law

 

-       collection of rules and decisions made by all agencies (FCC, SCC, FDA)
- almost all of the decisions managers make rely on administrative law

 

Law of Jurisprudence (thought/values)

 

o   natural law
- legal positivism
- identification with the vulnerable
- historical school
- legal realism
- cost benefit analysis
- overseas/global laws in trade
- comparative law

 

Natural Law

 

·         certain ethical laws and principles believed to be morally right and "above" the laws devised by humans

 

Legal Positivism

 

-       proper role as obedience to duly authorized law (follow the law because you have to, even when you don't morally agree)
- trust the legal system

 

 

Identification with the Vulnerable

 

·         idea that some higher law or body of moral principles connects all of us in the human community
- everyone is able to be protected by the law

 

Historical School

 

·         following tradition of the law

 

Legal Realism

 

·         judges have to base ruling on more than just the law
- social, economic due to changes in time

 

Overseas/Global Laws in Trade

 

·         North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and General Agreement on Tariffs and Trades (GATT)

 

Comparative Law

 

·         studies and compares laws in different countries

 

Class Notes

 

-       black letter law: most people agree with law
- laws are based on MORALS (more laws are straying away from morals due to population)

 

Wong owned a laundry in Aurora, Colorado, but has moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, for personal reasons. He wants to establish another laundry in the new city. He can find information regarding local taxes if he refers to the:
a) U.S. Constitution.
b) county ordinances.
c) United States Code.
d) common law.

 

 

·         b) county ordinances

 

The expenses and the incomes of a publicly held company were misappropriated by its managing director. When the incident came to light,
the share value of the company fell drastically. Which of the following laws will regulate this incident?
a) Private law
b) Environmental law
c) Criminal law
d) Civil law

 

 

·         c) criminal law

 

Which of the following laws is defined as a collection of rules and regulations put forth by legislatures?
a) Natural law
b) Common law
c) Statutory law
d) Administrative law

 

 

·         c) statutory law

 

_____ consists of the enforceable rules of conduct that govern commercial relationships.
a) Work ethic
b) Organizational value
c) Business law
d) Organizational norm

 

·         c) Business law

 

_____ is best described as the collection of legal interpretations made by judges.
a) Uniform law
b) Constitutional law
c) Common law
d) Statutory law

 

·         c) common law

 

A(n) _____ is best described as a binding agreement between two states or international organizations.
a) promissory note
b) treaty
c) cartel
d) equity alliance

 

·         b) treaty

 

The term _____ describes certain ethical laws and principles believed to be morally right and "above" the laws devised by humans.
a) constitutional law
b) common law
c) natural law
d) model law

 

·         c) natural law

 

An automobile company wants to change the supplier of its component parts, which will lead to a breach of their agreement that is valid for three years. Which of the following areas of business law will best govern the legal aspects of this decision?
a) Environmental law
b) Consumer law
c) Contract law
d) Human rights law

 

·         c) contract law

 

The concept of _____ ensures that morality does not interfere with our inclination to obey the law.
a) natural law
b) legal positivism
c) stare decisis
d) restatements of the law

 

·         b) legal positivism

 

Which of the following statements accurately brings out the difference between civil law and criminal law?
a) Civil law is applicable for transactions between an individual and the state or federal government, whereas criminal law is applicable for transactions between two individuals.
b) The defendant must be found guilty by a preponderance of evidence in criminal cases, while the defendant must be found guilty beyond all reasonable doubt in civil cases.
c) The guilty defendant of a civil case is never incarcerated, whereas the guilty defendant of a criminal case can be incarcerated.
d) Criminal law deals with personal issues like marriage and divorce, whereas civil law deals with commercial relationships.

 

·         c) The guilty defendant of a civil case is never incarcerated, whereas the guilty defendant of a criminal case can be incarcerated.