Английский язык. Практический курс для решения бизнес-задач Пусенкова Нина

Business Law

Business law is the body of rules, whether by convention, agreement, or national or international legislation, governing the dealings between persons in commercial matters.

Business law falls into two distinctive areas: (1) the regulation of commercial entities by the laws of company, partnership, agency, and bankruptcy and (2) the regulation of commercial transactions by the laws of contract and related fields.

In civil law countries, company law consists of statute law; in common law countries it consists partly of the ordinary rules of common law and equity and partly statute law. Two fundamental legal concepts underlie the whole of company law: the concept of legal personality and the theory of limited liability. Nearly all statutory rules are intended to protect either creditors or investors.

There are various forms of legal business entities ranging from the sole proprietor, who alone bears the risk and responsibility of running a business, taking the profits, but as such not forming any association in law and thus not regulated by special rules of law, to the registered company with limited liability and to multinational corporations. In a partnership, members «associate,» forming collectively an association in which they all participate in management and sharing profits, bearing the liability for the firm’s debts and being sued jointly and severally in relation to the firm’s contracts or tortious acts. All partners are agents for each other and as such are in a fiduciary relationship with one another. An agent is a person who is employed to bring his principal into contractual relations with third parties.

It is inevitable that in certain circumstances business entities might be unable to perform their financial obligations. With the development of the laws surrounding commercial enterprises, a body of rules developed relating to bankruptcy when a person or company is insolvent (i.e., unable to pay debts as and when they fall due), either he or his creditors may petition the court to take over the administration of his estate and its distribution among creditors. Three principles emerge: to secure fair and equal distribution of available property among the creditors, to free the debtor from his debts, and to enquire into the reasons for his insolvency.

Business law touches everyday lives through every contractual dealing undertaken. A contract, usually in the form of a commercial bargain involving some form of exchange of goods or services for a price, is a legally binding agreement made by two or more persons, enforceable by the courts. As such they may be written or oral, and to be binding the following must exist: an offer and unqualified acceptance thereof, intention to create legal relations, valuable consideration, and genuine consent (i.e., an absence of fraud). The terms must be legal, certain, and possible of performance.

Contractual relations, as the cornerstone of all commercial transactions, have resulted in the development of specific bodies of law within the scope of business law regulating (1) sale of goods, i.e., implied terms and conditions, the effects of performance, and breach of such contracts and remedies available to the parties; (2) the carriage of goods, including both national and international rules governing insurance, bills of lading, charter parties, and arbitrations; (3) consumer credit agreements; and (4) labour relations determining contractual rights and obligations between employers and employees and the regulation of trade unions.

Business law, on national and international levels, is continually evolving with new areas of law developing in relation to consumer protection, competition, and computers.

Source: Encyclopedia Britannica

The American Legal System

Sources of Law.

Constitutional Law is based on a formal document that defines broad powers. Federal constitutional law originates from the U.S. constitution. State constitutional law originates from the individual state constitutions.

Statutes and Ordinances are legislation passed on the federal, state, or local levels.

Common Law is based on the concept of precedence – on how the courts have interpreted the law. Under common law, the facts of a particular case are determined and compared to previous cases having similar facts in order to reach a decision by analogy. Common law applies mostly at the state level. It originated in the 13th century when royal judges began recording their decisions and the reasoning behind their decisions.

Administrative Law – federal, state and local level. Administrative law is made by administrative agencies that define the intent of the legislative body that passed the law.

The sources of law have both vertical and horizontal dimensions. Vertical dimensions include federal authority, state authority, and concurrent authority. Federalism refers to this form of government, in which there is national and local authority. Federal authority covers laws related to patents, pensions and profit sharing, and labor issues. State authority covers business association, contracts, and trade secrets. Concurrent authority covers security law, tax law and employment law. Note that employment law refers to non-union relationships; labor law refers to union relationships.

The horizontal dimension is related to the separation of power between the executive branch, which creates administrative law, the legislative branch, which creates statutes, and the judicial branch, which creates common law. The judicial system in the U.S. has a pyramid structure consisting of fewer higher level courts and more lower level courts:

Actually, there are two pyramid structures – one for federal courts and one for state courts. State courts may use different terminology; for example, trial courts may be called courts of common plea, appellate courts may be called superior courts or commonwealth courts.

Classification of Law.

Substantive law vs. procedural law: Substantive law creates, defines, and regulates legal rights and obligations. Procedural law defines the rules that are used to enforce substantive law.

Common law vs. statutory law: Common law is defined by judges. Statutory law is passed by legislatures. For example, the Securities Act of 1933 is statutory law.

Criminal law vs. civil law: Criminal law is between private parties and society. Civil law is between private parties only.

Jurisdiction.

Jurisdiction is the power of a court to hear a particular case. In order for a court to have jurisdiction, it must have both subject matter jurisdiction (the power to hear the type of claim being asserted) and personal jurisdiction (power over the person).

Subject Matter Jurisdiction

Article III of the U.S. constitution states that federal courts have only certain types of subject matter jurisdiction. To satisfy subject matter jurisdiction, a federal court must have either:

1. Federal question jurisdiction – federal courts have federal question jurisdiction in cases involving the federal constitution, federal statutes, or federal treaties.

Or

2. Diversity jurisdiction – diversity jurisdiction requires both a) $ 75,000 or more at issue, and b) the parties must be residents of different states. Diversity jurisdiction applies for example to a case in which a traveler passing through a different state from his/her home state is accused of a serious offense, and in which the plaintiff, attorneys, and judge may all be close friends.

Or

3. suit by or against the U.S. government.

Or

4. Miscellaneous – certain types of cases such as those related to patents, bankruptcy, admiralty (maritime cases), trademarks and copyrights, etc. Items 1) and 2) can be tried in either state or federal courts (concurrent state/federal jurisdiction). Items 3) and 4) may be heard only by federal courts.

Personal Jurisdiction.

Types of personal jurisdiction:

1. In personam – court has power over a particular person – in personam applies if minimum contact is established. For non-residents of a state, a state court may still have jurisdiction if the person travels regularly to the state on business or has a post office box in the state. Each state has its own definition of what constitutes doing business in the state, as determined by common law.

2. In Rem – a court has power if a particular piece of property is in the state.

3. Consent – when a contract specifies in which state any disputes are settled. The contract can specify a third state in which neither party does business.

Just because a case is heard by a particular state court does not mean that that state’s laws apply. The states whose laws are used can be specified in the contract. One state’s court can hear a case under another state’s laws.

Lifecycle of a Lawsuit.

In the beginning phase of a lawsuit, there is a complaint, followed by the defendant’s answer in which he or she tries to counter everything in the claim. The defendant then may file a counterclaim. Counterclaims are lawsuits within a lawsuit in which the defendant files a claim against the plaintiff. There then may be a preliminary motion, of which the outcome can be dismissed due to no legal claim based on reading the complaint, or a summary judgment in which a decision can be based on the facts of the case that are not in dispute.

The middle phase of a lawsuit is the discovery phase in which each side attempts to determine how strong their case is. The discovery phase consists of interrogations, depositions and admissions. By this point, most cases are settled.

The end phase of a lawsuit is the trial, beginning with a pre-trial conference in which the parties attempt to settle in front of a judge without going to court. The trial then proceeds with the evidence and then a judgment and possibly a post-judgment. The post-judgment may be that a new trial is necessary, such as in cases of mistrial.

The defendant usually has the right to one appeal within a certain period of time. An appeal is filed with the appellate court, there are briefs, oral arguments, and then a decision.

The judgment is enforced by first obtaining an execution that freezes the defendant’s assets. The defendant is served and the assets are levied. The defendant, however, may choose to file for bankruptcy protection, in which case all creditors are stopped, including court judgments.

Remedies.

There are two types of remedies: legal and equitable. Legal remedies are money-based and seek to financially compensate one for the damage that has occurred. Equitable remedies require a specific performance. Examples of equitable remedies are injunctions, restitution and reformation. In cases when damages are difficult to quantify, equitable remedies may be more appropriate.

Source: www.quickmba.com

Essential Vocabulary

1. business law – право, регулирующее область деловых отношений

2. law of contract – договорное право; договорно-обязательственное право

3. civil law – римское право; внутригосударственное право (в отличие от международного права); гражданское право; позитивное право (в отличие от естественного права)

4. statute (statutory) law – статутное право; право, выраженное в законодательных актах

5. common law – общее право; англо-саксонское право

6. legal personality – правосубъектность

7. sue v – преследовать по суду; предъявлять иск или обвинение

8. tort n – деликт, гражданское правонарушение

tortious a – деликтный

9. estate n — имущество, собственность; вещно-правовой титул; сословие

10. fraud n – обман, мошенничество

fraudulent a – обманный, мошеннический

11. remedy n – средство судебной защиты

12. carriage n – перевозка; проведение, принятие голосованием

carrier n – перевозчик, фрахтовщик

13. bill of lading – коносамент

14. constitutional law – конституционное право, государственное право; конституционный закон, основной закон

15. statute n – статут (международный коллективный акт конституционного характера; закон, законодательный акт; устав)

statutory a – действующий в силу закона, основанный на законе, предусмотренный законом, статутный, законный

16. ordinance n – указ, декрет

17. precedence n – старшинство, ранг, приоритет, прецедент

precedent n – прецедент

18. judge n — судья

19. administrative law – административное право

20. labour law – трудовое право

21. employment law – трудовое право

22. Supreme Court – Верховный суд

23. Appellate (Appeal(s)) Court – апелляционный суд

24. Trial Court – суд первой инстанции

25. plea n – заявление оснований иска или обвинения или оснований защиты против иска или обвинения; аргумент; заявление, сделанное ответчиком или защитой или от имени ответчика или защиты; извинение, оправдание; иск

26. commonwealth court – суд штата (в США)

27. substantive law – материальное право

28. procedural law – процессуальное право

29. legislature n – законодательная власть, законодательный орган

30. criminal law – уголовное право

31. subject matter jurisdiction – предметная подсудность

32. personal jurisdiction – персональная юрисдикция

33. federal question jurisdiction – федеральная юрисдикция; практика федеральных судов (амер.)

34. offense n – посягательство; правонарушение; преступление

offender n – правонарушитель, преступник

offend v – оскорблять; нарушать, посягать

35. plaintiff n – истец

36. attorney n – атторней, уполномоченный, доверенный; поверенный, юрист, адвокат; прокурор

37. suit n – иск, преследование по суду, судебное дело, судебный процесс, судопроизводство

38. miscellaneous a – разнообразный, сборный

39. In personam – в отношении конкретного лица; носящий обязательственный характер (лат.)

40. In Rem – в отношении самой вещи; вещный, абсолютный (лат.)

41. consent n – совпадение воль, согласие

consent v – давать согласие, соглашаться

42. lawsuit n – судебное дело, иск, тяжба, правовой спор, судебное разбирательство, судебный процесс

43. defendant n – ответчик; обвиняемый; подсудимый

defense n – оборона; защита; обстоятельство, освобождающее от ответственности

defend v – обороняться, защищаться; защищать на суде, выступать защитником; возражать; запрещать

44. counterclaim n – встречное требование, встречный иск

45. motion n – предложение; ходатайство (в суде)

46. judgment n – судебное решение, приговор; суждение, мнение, оценка

47. discovery n – открытие; раскрытие, представление сведений, документов; обнаружение (нового факта, преступления)

48. deposition n – письменное показание под присягой; приобщение к материалам дела; приобщенное к материалам дела доказательство; низложение, свержение

49. pre-trial a – досудебный

50. post-judgment a – послесудебный

51. mistrial n – неправильное судебное разбирательство

52. brief n – (зд.) сводка, резюме; краткое письменное изложение дела; записка по делу, представляемая адвокатом в апелляционный суд

brief v – составлять сводку, резюмировать; поручать ведение дела адвокату; давать инструкции адвокату

53. freeze v – замораживать, блокировать, устанавливать контроль, вводить запрет

54. equitable а – справедливый; основанный на праве справедливости, регулируемый правом справедливости

55. injunction n – судебный запрет; запретительная норма

56. restitution n – восстановление первоначального положения

57. reformation n – внесение исправления

Exercise 1. Answer the following questions.

1. What does business law regulate? 2. What are the two key areas of business law? 3. What are the fundamental legal concepts that underlie the company law? 4. What are the most common forms of legal business entities? 5. What are the key ideas of rules regulating bankruptcy? 6. What are the specifics of contracts and contractual relations? 7. What new aspects of business law are developing now? 8. What are the sources of law in the United States? 9. What are the specifics of vertical and horizontal dimensions of sources of law? 10. How is the U.S. law classified? 11. What are the different jurisdictions that exist in the U.S.? 12. How does a lawsuit normally evolve?