International Business
Law & Ethics
By Chris Custers
- Law
- Ethics
Law Chapter 1
What is law and where can we find it?
1.1 the organization of just behaviour
Law organizes just behaviour in a society using two types of legal rules.
® Substantive law = composed of legal rules that define the content of just
behaviour, rules & regulations. =
® Formal law = composed of legal rules that maintain substantive law,
consequences to maintain the rules.
Substantive and formal legal rules are necessary to regulate two types of relations:
public and private regulations.
® Public law is the law, that regulates the relation between a government and
its citizens.
® Private law is the law that regulates the relation between citizen or those
who act like citizens.
Legal branches:
o International level: economic cooperation
o National public law level: constitutional, administrative and criminal law.
o National private law level: we categorize law that deals with contracts,
liability, labor contracts, the legal form of a company, privacy, and
intellectual property.
1.2 the meaning of just behaviour
“just” implies a balance between the value’s “justice”, “opportuness” and “legal
certainty”.
® Justice is the moral conviction of a given society expressed in law.
® Opportuness is the expression of effectiveness by a given society in law.
® Legal certainty is the expression of legality in a given society.
1.3 the origin of law
The origin of law:
,There are two opposing views regarding the origin of law: natural law and
positivist law. They are two extremes and are usually both apparent in legal
systems.
In a natural law approach: it is assumed that law comes fort from nature
in a positivist law approach: it is assumed that law comes forth from codification.
1.4 legal sources
The sources of law:
The following sources are generally used:
o Codified standards
o The application of law
o Legal writings and teachings
o Religious writings and teachings
o Customary law
o Legal principles
Codified standards are written rules produced by a legislator:
o At international level, written standards are usually created in the form of a
contract between states: a treaty.
o A bilateral treaty is a treaty to which two states are party.
o A multilateral treaty is a treaty to which more than two states are a
party.
o A state expresses the will to be bound by a treaty by signing and ratifying
the treaty.
o The signature of a treaty implies the consent of the responsible
negotiator on behalf of the state to the treaty.
o The ratification of a treaty implies the consent of the responsible
legislator on behalf of the state of the treaty.
o There are two approaches in how international written standards have
effect in the domestic legal order of the state parties to a treaty: monism &
dualism.
o Monism is an approach in law in which it is assumed that the content of a
signed and ratified treaty is automatically part of the domestic legal
order.
o Dualism is an approach in law in which it is assumed that a signed and
ratified treaty needs to be transformed into domestic law first before it
forms part of the domestic legal order.
Law application is performed by courts and tribunals, the administration and the
military.
Case law is a chain of authoritative legal rulings in which the same reasoning
pattern of the court is applied in similar cases, in some countries the principle of
stare decisis applies.
o Stare decisis is a legal principle in which courts have to follow the legal
reasoning as applied in previous cases.
The administration is the branch in the public sector that executes the law within
the boundaries of its competences.
2
, o The margin of discretion is the room allowed to the administration to
execute the law at their own discretion.
In some countries, the military is authorized to apply the law, or parts of the law.
Legal writings and teachings can be a legal source in its own rights.
In some countries religious writings and teachings are accepted as a source of law:
o A non-secular state is a state in which governance and religion are
mixed.
o A secular state is a state in which governance and religion are separated.
Customary law is an established and accepted legal practice.
o Usus -> habbit, has been going on for a while.
o Opinio iuris sive necessatis -> every state / person involved should
believe it should be = handjeklap, Ukraine/Russia Kremlin.
A legal principle is a general value that applies in law.
o ius cogens = universally binding legal principles
Law Chapter 2
Comparative law and legal systems
2.1 the purpose of comparative law
Comparative law has 5 main purposes:
o The gaining of knowledge
o Evaluating the better law
o Substantiate the application of law
o Improve legal education
o The unification of law
There are 2 levels of legal comparison: micro- and macro comparison.
2.2 macro comparison: legal families
Macro comparison:
® Macro comparison is the activity in which the main characteristics of legal
systems are compared.
® A legal system is a coherent collective of legal rules in which the same
hierarchy of legal sources applies, mostly determined by the boundaries of a
state.
® A legal family is a group of legal systems that share the same basic
characteristics in law, including at similar hierarchy of legal rules.
There are 6 types of legal families:
1. A common law system = case driven = (England)
2. A civil law system = driven by codified standards = (France)
3. A socialist system = driven by the administration = (Cuba)
3
Law & Ethics
By Chris Custers
- Law
- Ethics
Law Chapter 1
What is law and where can we find it?
1.1 the organization of just behaviour
Law organizes just behaviour in a society using two types of legal rules.
® Substantive law = composed of legal rules that define the content of just
behaviour, rules & regulations. =
® Formal law = composed of legal rules that maintain substantive law,
consequences to maintain the rules.
Substantive and formal legal rules are necessary to regulate two types of relations:
public and private regulations.
® Public law is the law, that regulates the relation between a government and
its citizens.
® Private law is the law that regulates the relation between citizen or those
who act like citizens.
Legal branches:
o International level: economic cooperation
o National public law level: constitutional, administrative and criminal law.
o National private law level: we categorize law that deals with contracts,
liability, labor contracts, the legal form of a company, privacy, and
intellectual property.
1.2 the meaning of just behaviour
“just” implies a balance between the value’s “justice”, “opportuness” and “legal
certainty”.
® Justice is the moral conviction of a given society expressed in law.
® Opportuness is the expression of effectiveness by a given society in law.
® Legal certainty is the expression of legality in a given society.
1.3 the origin of law
The origin of law:
,There are two opposing views regarding the origin of law: natural law and
positivist law. They are two extremes and are usually both apparent in legal
systems.
In a natural law approach: it is assumed that law comes fort from nature
in a positivist law approach: it is assumed that law comes forth from codification.
1.4 legal sources
The sources of law:
The following sources are generally used:
o Codified standards
o The application of law
o Legal writings and teachings
o Religious writings and teachings
o Customary law
o Legal principles
Codified standards are written rules produced by a legislator:
o At international level, written standards are usually created in the form of a
contract between states: a treaty.
o A bilateral treaty is a treaty to which two states are party.
o A multilateral treaty is a treaty to which more than two states are a
party.
o A state expresses the will to be bound by a treaty by signing and ratifying
the treaty.
o The signature of a treaty implies the consent of the responsible
negotiator on behalf of the state to the treaty.
o The ratification of a treaty implies the consent of the responsible
legislator on behalf of the state of the treaty.
o There are two approaches in how international written standards have
effect in the domestic legal order of the state parties to a treaty: monism &
dualism.
o Monism is an approach in law in which it is assumed that the content of a
signed and ratified treaty is automatically part of the domestic legal
order.
o Dualism is an approach in law in which it is assumed that a signed and
ratified treaty needs to be transformed into domestic law first before it
forms part of the domestic legal order.
Law application is performed by courts and tribunals, the administration and the
military.
Case law is a chain of authoritative legal rulings in which the same reasoning
pattern of the court is applied in similar cases, in some countries the principle of
stare decisis applies.
o Stare decisis is a legal principle in which courts have to follow the legal
reasoning as applied in previous cases.
The administration is the branch in the public sector that executes the law within
the boundaries of its competences.
2
, o The margin of discretion is the room allowed to the administration to
execute the law at their own discretion.
In some countries, the military is authorized to apply the law, or parts of the law.
Legal writings and teachings can be a legal source in its own rights.
In some countries religious writings and teachings are accepted as a source of law:
o A non-secular state is a state in which governance and religion are
mixed.
o A secular state is a state in which governance and religion are separated.
Customary law is an established and accepted legal practice.
o Usus -> habbit, has been going on for a while.
o Opinio iuris sive necessatis -> every state / person involved should
believe it should be = handjeklap, Ukraine/Russia Kremlin.
A legal principle is a general value that applies in law.
o ius cogens = universally binding legal principles
Law Chapter 2
Comparative law and legal systems
2.1 the purpose of comparative law
Comparative law has 5 main purposes:
o The gaining of knowledge
o Evaluating the better law
o Substantiate the application of law
o Improve legal education
o The unification of law
There are 2 levels of legal comparison: micro- and macro comparison.
2.2 macro comparison: legal families
Macro comparison:
® Macro comparison is the activity in which the main characteristics of legal
systems are compared.
® A legal system is a coherent collective of legal rules in which the same
hierarchy of legal sources applies, mostly determined by the boundaries of a
state.
® A legal family is a group of legal systems that share the same basic
characteristics in law, including at similar hierarchy of legal rules.
There are 6 types of legal families:
1. A common law system = case driven = (England)
2. A civil law system = driven by codified standards = (France)
3. A socialist system = driven by the administration = (Cuba)
3
