plete
Com Solutions
1. What is law? Law denotes the principles and regulations established in a
community by some authority and applicable to its people, either
through legislation, or through custom, or through policies recognized
and enforced by a judicial decision.
Law can also be defined as a body of rules of conduct of binding legal
force that if broken, subjects a party to criminal punishment or civil liability
2. Why do we
need laws? Primarily to regulate the behavior of the individual or the business, to be
aligned with what is acceptable to society as a whole.
3. Classification
of laws Public Law relates to the ability of society to take action against those
whose actions are considered to be against the law.
Private Law relates to the ability of individuals to initiate action against
others (to sue one another).
4. The legal system: In the U.S., all law in founded in the Constitution.
Law is made at the federal, state, and local levels.
Law is made by legislatures (statutes), by court decisions (common law),
and by administrative agencies(regulations).
Laws are not static.
Old laws can be modified or repealed.
New laws can be made to address changes in society.
5. What is the
high- est law in The U.S. Constitution
the U.S.?
No local, state, or federal law can contradict the provisions of the U.S.
Constitution.
, BMAL-590 Foundations of Legal Environment of Business Exam With
plete
Com Solutions
6. The Constitution The Constitution may be amended by the procedure prescribed by
the Constitu- tion itself: an amendment comes into force when
approved by two-thirds of both houses of Congress, then ratified by
three-fourths of the state legislatures.
This process has been accomplished 27 times. The first 10
amendments added immediately after the Constitution was ratified and
protects individual liberties and rights. These first 10 together are
known as The Bill of Rights.
7. Statutes Laws created by legislative bodies at all levels
Enacted by federal and state legislatures, and ordinances are enacted
by local governments.
8. Federal laws Applicable throughout the country
9. State Laws State laws are confined to a particular state.
10. Local laws Confined to the geographical jurisdiction of the authority.
11. Supremacy The federal law prevails, when a state law or a local law conflicts with a
federal law
12. Federal Court
Hi- erarchy US Supreme Court
US District Courts of Appeal
US District Court (this is trial court)
13. State Courts
Hi- erarchy
State Supreme Court
14. How are State Court of Appeal
federal laws
passed? By Congress and signed into law by the President
15. How are
state laws
passed? By the state legislatures and signed into law by the Governor
, BMAL-590 Foundations of Legal Environment of Business Exam With
plete
Com Solutions
16. What If the President or Governor rejects (vetoes) a proposed law, the
happens with
a veto? legislature may override the veto if at least two-thirds of the members
of each house of the legislature vote in favor of the law.
17. Treaties The President has the power to enter into treaties with Sovereign nations
on
a wide variety of issues from trade to defense. A treaty becomes a law
when approved by two-thirds of the Senate.
18. What do
the courts They interpret the law
do?
19. Judicial decisions A source of precedent both for the parties concerned and
prospectively for others in the same jurisdiction in a similar situation
Judicial decisions create Case Law
20. Case law The rules of law announced in court decisions
21. Precedent An example that may serve as a basis for imitation or later action
22. Common Law A system of law based on precedent and customs
Creates a degree of consistency and predictability
23. Decisions of
the courts The decision of a higher court supersedes the decision of a lower court within
the jurisdiction of the higher court.
24. Case of First They interpret existing laws
Im- pression
If there is no precedent to guide the resolution of a case
25. The U.S.
Supreme Court
The highest court of the United States; it sits at the top of the federal