Master the Art of Legal Advocacy with Expert Law Assignment Help

Law is defined as “a body of rules of action or conduct prescribed by controlling authority, and having legal binding force (Melvin, 2011). Law dictates every aspect of our day to day activities and gives us guidelines for what is right or wrong, upholds order, and without it civilized life would not exist. Law in Business and Society Laws are enforced by the government, both federal and state. Although it may seem as if federal has more power, it is actually the states that have more influence over individuals and business. States, unlike the federal government, cannot create new laws. This job is left up to the three separate branches of the government, Legislative, Executive and Judicial (Melvin, 2011). In a society we are mostly affected by statutory a law, which is broken down into two categories, civil and criminal. These laws affect businesses as well as individuals and breaking them will lead to fines or imprisonment (Melvin, 2011). After the most recent recession, I believe that businesses are under a microscope now more than ever. With the scandal that came out from big businesses and their top executives, consumers and the government wanted ways to keep illegal activities from happening again. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was put into place “to protect shareholders and the general public from accounting errors and fraudulent practices in the enterprise, as well as improve the accuracy of corporate disclosure (Rouse, 2014). SOX makes it, so we as consumers have a more clear view of what goes on behind closed doors of big business. I believe it has helped cut down on unethical business behavior by setting punishments for individuals who want to do things that may hurt others financially to benefit themselves. I work for a produce company that buys and sells fresh produce within the US to different chain grocery stores. I handle all the logistic as the Transportation Coordinator and work with truck drivers on a daily basis. One major law these truck drivers need to comply with is the hours of service regulation. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, any driver of a commercial motor vehicle must not drive more than 70 hours per week, which decreased from the previous maximum of 82 (“Hours Of Service”, 2014). Drivers must allow themselves rest of 34 consecutive hours if they have worked a total of 70 hours the previous week before driving again (“Hours of Service”, 2014). Truck drivers are also only allowed 11 hours of drive time daily, with a limit of a 14-hour work day (“Hours of Service”, 2014).  This means that once the driver has started down the road they can only drive a total of 11 hours. After the 11 hours have passed they must take a 10 hour break from driving or risk facing a fine if caught. Cutting back the amount of hours a truck driver can drive has affected the produce industry as well as others. Certain commodities need to deliver in a specific amount of time and can only ride in a trailer equipped with a reefer, which is a machine that maintains a specific temperature, for a period of time. Depending on the delivery location, a single driver in a tractor-trailer can make a trip from Southern Florida to Northern Massachusetts in three days. The issue here is not drivers are given less time to make the same run. Produce has a shelf life and is deliveries are time sensitive. Truck drivers need to get loaded and get the product off as quickly as possible. The risk of hauling such sensitive freight can lead to claims against the truck driver. An example would be some customers may reject the product if they believe it has been on the trailer too long and were no longer okay to put in their stores. The sooner the product comes off the trailers, the better it is for the driver. Conclusion Laws separate us from the animals. Without them life as, we know it would not be as orderly or stable as we know it to be. Although many people still break laws and take a risk, our government has come up with ways to punish those who are not smart enough to break them. There will always be much debate about what laws are correct and what are not, but at the end of the day we need to have laws to ensure order.  References  Hours of Service. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/hours-ofservice Melvin, S. P. (2011). The legal environment of business: A managerial approach: Theory to  practice.  New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Rouse, M. (2014). Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). Retrieved from http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/Sarbanes-Oxley-Act

Copyright law gives the safeguarding and protection to creative pieces at the time when they are created. If a person uses copyrighted work without prior consent, the owner of the work can sue for infringement in a court of law. Journalists need to be aware of the two sides of this issue. That is, how to prevent their work from being used without consent, and how to other persons works without infringing on their copyright. Registering work is an easy task. The hot news doctrine can inhibit news creators or may also protect them. The use of copyrighted material fairly is an essential concept for all content makers to be aware of. Most courts agree that any journalist who publishes online can be a reporter for reasons of shields laws provided that they regularly collect and disseminate news to the public. What makes copyright relate to the topic is that it is an intellectual property. A copyright is shared among some of licensed authors referred to as rightsholders. There the work of these rightsholders is allows protected from such acts as copying, distribution, public performance and control over derivative works. If one violates this in one way or another, the rightsholders normally have the right to sue the violators (Leaffer 2010). According to Burrell in spite of the fact that the internet puts the world readily available, it makes a colossal issue for some individuals. One of the significant concerns is the copyright law infringement of individuals who put their work online. The way that their work could be effectively controlled and replicated without the proprietor's assent is a noteworthy issue. Despite the fact that copyrights laws intend to secure the privileges of a man's work, it gets to be hard to some degree to uphold this law among the Internet and web clients (Burrell 2005). According to (Joyce 2013) copyright is a law that ensures distributed and unpublished abstract, exploratory and aesthetic work or anything that is unmistakable or material structure. Anything from a tune, book, and PC programs that a man makes gets protection from copyright. Copyrights exist to purposely recognize the maker of a work. It gives the maker the selective rights to do whatever he or she needs with his work, regardless of the possibility that this implies the propagation, dispersion or annihilation of the creation. This shields the maker from any individual who tries to take, recreate, or change any of their work. Most copyrights are through documenting out a straightforward application that incorporates a little one-time expense. Most copyright laws lapse 50-70 years (Patry 1994). I believe that copyright law is a good thing since it has more benefits to both the owners and the users of the work. To start with, the authors or the makers normally invest a lot of resources and effort in coming up with their work. It will be logic to take the time and appreciate their work and allowing them to earn from their hard work. On the other hand, it promotes and encourages creativity, as one has to come up with an original work rather than just using other person’s work. Many will argue that copyright prevents quality improvement as one can make changes to the original work to come up with a better version of that original version. It will be right to say that without any copyright law and regulations, there would have always been chaos and many authors would have been demotivated thus less work or products available due to fear of their work manipulated by others. References Burrell, R. (2005). Copyright exceptions: The digital impact. Joyce, C., Leaffer, M. A., Jaszi, P., Ochoa, T. T., & Carroll, M. W. (2013). Copyright law. Leaffer, M. A. (2010). Understanding copyright law. New Providence, NJ: LexisNexis. Patry, W. F. (1994). Copyright law and practice. Washington, D.C: Bureau of National Affairs.

Generally, the legal environment around the globe can be classified into two major types: common law and code law (civil). The US has a common law system while Germany has civil law.  In common-law nations, the chief source of power is case law in the method of judicial opinions. Furthermore, in the US legal system, judges serve as arbitrators, presiding over lawyer-directed trials and forming suitable resolves fairly flexibly. (Ligeti, (2019). On the other hand, in a coded law system, such as in Germany, judges have a more fundamental inquisitorial function to examine facts, cross-examine suspects, scrutinize witnesses, and execute codified law to their verdict in a rather stricter way as compared to the US law system. in the US, cases are predominantly resolved centered on precedent, which is used to rule the present or future cases. However, in Germany, civil law is codified, meaning that they have restructured legal codes covering all matters capable of being presented in court, the pertinent process, and the suitable penalty for every felony. the precedent in civil law is just used to ascertain administrative of constitutional court matters.  Since a judge or a panel of judges will resolve all cases coming to court, there is no usage for juries in the German legal system. In some particular (criminal) cases, several lay individuals are appointed to help the judge, and their votes amount just as much as the judge’s vote. (Badawi, (2019). On the other hand, the US legal system prerequisites a jury panel comprised of laypersons who evaluate evidence bestowed to them and discover facts and implement the law. In both countries, the sources of law include the constitution, custom, legislation, (subsidiary legislation and statutes), and international law. However, the US legal system draws laws from court precedent and convention. (Gelter, (2018). The German legal system also draws from judicial precedent and convections in continental systems. However, they are not commonly recognized. Finally, both legal systems have case law, they approach regulation and settle issues in distinct ways, from distinct perspectives. References Badawi, A. B., & Dari-Mattiacci, G. (2019). Reference networks and civil codes. See Livermore & Rockmore, 2019, 339-65. Gelter, M., & Helleringer, G. (2018). Fiduciary Principles in European Civil Law Systems. Ligeti, K. (2019). The Place of the Prosecutor in Common Law and Civil Law Jurisdictions. The Oxford Handbook of Criminal Process.

Substantive law focuses on obligations and rights that administer organizations and people while comprising all rules of specific and general applicability. It administers the way people are forecasted to behave in accordance to embraced social norms. For instance, the Ten Commandments include a set of substantive rules, and these rules define responsibilities and rights in court proceedings. It also administer the way innocence or guilt is to remain determined and the way crimes are punished and charged. On the other hand, procedural law focuses on authorized laws by which these laws are enforced, applied and created specifically in law court[ CITATION pbs22 \l 1033 ]. It focuses on laws by which court proceedings deal with implementation of substantive rules are directed. The main aim is to focus on reality in connection to proof that secure the rights of all included people. It also administer the acceptability of proof as well as testimony and presentation of witnesses. There are numerous examples of concepts for crimes in USA and international crimes. Crimes in USA depend with time with sudden rise while reaching wide bulging peak since 1990s. Crimes focus on victim and offender with severity of crime. Homicides include evaluation of unauthorized homicides inflicted as an outcome of domestic conflicts by using violent conflict and interpersonal violence. It also integrate violence over regulation and people also commit homicide where killing the people is inclined to remain cohesive with the groups[ CITATION eur21 \l 1033 ]. Moreover, international crimes mention crimes against humanity. These crimes are broad schematic attack that execute against population. It includes serious crimes to international community where violation of laws might outcome in custody. Genocide is a serious crime which is mainly against humanity. The crime against war crime and humanity hurt the wellbeing, security and peace of the people[ CITATION Bau91 \l 1033 ]. If global criminal activity operates beneath substantive criminal and procedural criminal law, then criminal code is the chief source of criminal rule. Constitution is the chief source of criminal law, as it also includes issuing legislative laws, administrative laws, and court laws. Moreover, laws administer the obligations and rights of people and also derive these rules from constitution, statutes, and common law. For instance, a person claim to recuperate the contract breach that might a common rights of substantive laws. Substantive laws deal with association between persons whether corporate bodies and persons has laws of civil process. The item of judiciary processes focus on administering physical evidence, documentation and witnesses (Melville & Naimark, 2002). Procedural criminal laws are also concerned with global criminal activity, as procedural law focus on kinds of inquisitorial or adversarial kinds of criminal process that also deliberate specific presence of scheme with unique structures. Procedural law ensures a person who allege breach of agreement that might focus on aiding court while enforcing the contract. References Baumann, P. T. (1991). Substance in the Shadow of Procedure: The Integration of. BCL Rev, 211. Retrieved from https://heinonline.org/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi? handle=hein.journals/bclr33&section=14 eurojust.europa. (2021). Core international crimes. Retrieved from eurojust.europa: https://www.eurojust.europa.eu/crime-types-and-cases/crime-types/core-international- crimes Melville, J. D., & Naimark, D. (2002). Punishing the insane: The verdict of guilty but mentally ill. Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online, 30(4), 553-555. pbs. (2022). Insanity Defense FAQs. Retrieved from pbs: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/crime/trial/faqs.html

Role of case law in Common Law family Introduction. English and America are exemplary to common law legal systems. In both the two aforementioned systems, precedents (or case law, judge-made law) play a paramount role in the judicial proceedings. In this essay, the author will give readers a brief content on the definition and the role of precedents, as well as the application of precedents in reality. Contents. Case law – theoretical issues. The term “case law” (or precedent, judge-made law) comes into existence along with the being of Common Law family, thus, it is obvious that, in order to understand precedent in its intrinsic way, it is necessary to root its origin from the Common Law family (or Common Law tradition). Common law evolved in England since around the 11th century and was later adopted in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other countries of the British Commonwealth. The paramount distinction between civil law and common law system is that, whereas civil law system is a codified system, the common law basis are mainly case law, or judge-made law. “Case law” is an ambiguous expression. It can refer to the hundreds of examples of detailed application of the law to particular cases that a legal system produces every day: decisions that have no significance except in the case in which they are made, for researchers who are interested to find out whether laws are applied in practice as they ought to be in theory, and for people (such as textbook writers) who look for practical illustrations of the theoretical statements that they make. Or it can refer to the possibility that, in certain circumstances, the higher courts of a legal system may, in making decisions in individual cases, actually create law, or authoritatively declare what the law is, in such a way as to compel other courts to reach the same conclusion on a similar issue. Or it can refer to something in between these two extremes: the fact that a judge is likely to follow a decision by another judge on a similar issue if the other judge commands respect and the first judge knows about his or her decision. In general, the author agree with the notion given in Blacks Law Dictionary: “Precedent is the making of law by a court in recognizing and apply new rules while administering justice and a decided case that furnishes a basic for determining later cases involving similar facts or issues”. From that perspective, it is a conclusion of two main characteristics of case law. First of all, it is created by the judges during the trial proceedings, thus, it has another name as judge-made law. Secondly, the novelty is of the utmost importance when it comes to the establishment of precedents. Normally, the judge have to take into consideration the question of fact and question of law when dealing with a case. Only in the case when the question of law is novel and the command of a new ruling is necessary do the judge take into account the creation of a new case law to resolve the situation. Case law – an indispensable part of Common Law Family. Precedents play a very significant role in both common law and continental legal systems. In the common law legal system, where precedents can be formally binding on future cases, it is the principle of stare decisis that take control over the judicial decisions in general. Each judge, when deciding a matter before him or her, selects the prior cases on which to rely; no external authority designates precedents. Under stare decisis, every case has the potential of being a precedent in some sense. One part of a decision may have persuasive or even binding authority even if a different part of the decision has been discredited or overturned. Yet only the holding or ratio decidendi of a case can be binding; any remarks unnecessary to the result are non-binding dicta. A prior case must meet two requirements to be considered binding precedent. First, as compared with the present matter before the judge, the prior case must address the same legal questions as applied to similar facts. The higher the degree of factual similarity, the more weight the judge gives the prior case when deciding the present matter. The degree of similarity of a prior case is therefore often a point of contention between parties to a litigation. Litigants compare and contrast prior cases with their own in briefs submitted to the court. The judge reviews and weighs these arguments but also may conduct his own research into, and analysis of, prior cases. The second requirement for a case to be considered binding precedent is that it must have been decided by the same court or a superior court within the hierarchy to which the court considering the case belongs. For example, The American federal court system has three tiers: the district courts, the courts of appeals (divided into “circuits” with distinct geographic boundaries), and the U.S. Supreme Court. Each state also has a multi-tiered court system and, if certain jurisdictional requirements are met, the U.S. Supreme Court may review the decisions of the highest court in each state. Each district court thus follows precedents handed down by the Supreme Court and by the court of appeals in the circuit encompassing the district court. Each court of appeals follows its own precedents and precedents handed down by the Supreme Court, but it need not adhere to decisions of courts of appeals in other circuits. A court may consider decisions by other, non-superior courts to be persuasive precedent, however, and follow them if they are well-reasoned and if there is no binding precedent that conflicts. The doctrine of stare decisis (or, in another word, the application of precedents) confers many benefits on the common law judicial system. At its core, the doctrine protects and respects “the legitimate expectations of those who live under the law.” Stare decisis promotes stability, “represents an element of continuity in law, and is rooted in the psychological need to satisfy reasonable expectations.” Reasonable expectations are particularly compelling in the commercial context, where “contracts or title to property may be premised on a rule established by case law” and a shift in the law could “undermine vested contract and property rights” or undermine related rules upon which people have come to rely. By safeguarding reliance interests, precedents furthers “a system of justice based on fairness to the individual.” Since it is bound by the pervious case, and thus same decision will be made and equal punishment will be punished for those who loss the case bases on the past cases. Example like Balfour case and Merrit case, where the decision made in Merrit case is bound to the Balfour case. It can be used by lawyers as a reference to create certainty which allow them to advice their client for the probability of winning and losing a case by forecasting the predictable result of the case based on the binding result of the previous case. The predictable result and probability of losing a case allow the client to settle it with privately with peace. If the probability of winning a case is higher, it satisfy the client with higher confident. Example for Balfour case and Merrit case, since there are similar case occurred in the past, the lawyer can actually based on the previous case advice Miss Merrit about the percentage of winning the case. Furthermore, using case law as a source of law enables the judgment of the case to be settling in short period because of the binding precedent which is much more efficient. Shorter period of settling a case will reduce the legal cost paid by the client. Example for Balfour case and Merrit case, since there are similar facts between both cases, therefore less time and cost needed for judging that case. Using binding precedent concept, it totally avoid discrimination whereby the The personality of judges will not influence the outcome of dispute in court as the decision made by the judges is bound to follow previous decisions. Whether they are discrimination between the judges towards the plaintiff or defendant, the judges still have to follow the binding decisions. Example for the Merrit case, if the judges know the plaintiff, the decision made will be still bound with the Balfour case. This can provide a fair judgment of case for either defendant or plaintiff. Besides, stare decisis also ensures that legal change moves in an incremental fashion, “facilitating the gradual assimilation of new rules into the overarching legal framework.” A precedent-based system additionally serves an efficiency function: as the late Supreme Court Justice Benjamin Cardozo once wrote, “the labor of judges would be increased almost to the breaking point if every past decision could be reopened in every case, and one could not lay one’s own course of bricks on the secure foundation of the courses laid by others who had gone before him.” Thus, stare decisis “expedites the work of the courts by preventing the constant reconsideration of settled questions.” Lastly, adherence to stare decisis ensures the legitimacy of the judicial process by “permitting society to presume that bedrock principles are founded in the law rather than in the proclivities of individuals.” Practical application of case law in significant Common Law nations. In common law nations, precedents are basic source of law, regardless of the codification, especially in the UK where the case law roots its origin. However, case law plays different role in different nation in the common law Commonwealth. For example, America is the one that is under harsh influence from the English common law, nevertheless, there still be the existence of the codified legislation, significantly the Uniform commercial code. In common law, judges is not only the one who create the precedents but also commit to apply judicial decisions in accordance with the precedents in suitable situations. The stare decisis is not only applied with precedents created by the Supreme court but also other courts that are competent to appellate power, for example, in England, namely the High courts. Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. Besides, in civil law nations, precedent, although not considered the paramount source of law, still play a significant role in interpreting the ambiguousness of codified legislation and substitute for the errors and outdatedness of the enacted law. Conclusion. In conclusion, the essay is not just an extolment of precedents’ predominance in common law systems but also a glorification on its referencing role in continental countries. However, precedents do expose some defects that need adjusting. Therefore, the combination of precedents (as unwritten law) and codified legislation is the best solution for any nation to perfect its legal system.

Introduction: Nobody can deny the law is not an important thing in our lives. Law is necessary in our daily life, and all countries of the world have different laws of their own in government, education, health, and other matters. The laws in our life help us to live life in order. In addition, we use the law in ordinary life and at home in different things, because it is a basic thing, and everyone must accept it and agree on it. On the other hand, in most countries, if someone violates it, he will pay a fine or be imprisoned for violating it, this depends on a law. Where all the countries of the world always strive to establish good laws. Therefore, everyone must abide by the law. The law is divided into two parts, such as criminal and civil law. Civil law is documents and concepts taken from Roman law. Also, civil law includes people and government. Civil law regulates various relationships, including private and legal relationships that have nothing to do with trade, as well as people's relationships with one another, such as special relationships in a personal situation. Also, the criminal law, or as it is called the penal code. The law regulates how to punish anyone who violates a legal rule. Based on the violation, a legal penalty is imposed. It is considered one of the laws related to crimes and penalties that the state sets to deter violations. Difference between Civil and Criminal Law: The criminal law is the law that deals with crimes and their punishment while the civil law is what relates to private rights. About the criminal law, legal penalties are set for people accused of theft, arson, assault and murder, while the civil law is concerned with individuals whose rights have been violated by organizations or individuals and cases related to civil law can be resolved. Through a non-criminal trial. Crimes related to criminal law affect all members of society, while crimes related to civil law belong to one individual and are among individuals about the rights or property of the other person. The criminal law is more dangerous than civil law. In the civil law, the goal is to restore the rights of its owner or justice between individuals, while the criminal law aims to punish the accused to prevent him from committing crimes again to create a stable society that respects the law. The criminal case is filed by the government, while the civil case is filed by individuals or the organization. In civil cases, both parties have the right to appeal the case while the criminal case allows the defendant only to appeal the case. Civil cases occur because of a person's recklessness or negligence and not because of a violation of laws or advance planning. For example, when a person slips into a store or shop because workers wash the floor and raise a case against them, it is because of the workers' negligence and not prior planning. In criminal cases, cases occur due to individuals breaking laws, intentionally, or pre-planning. For example, placing toxic substances for a person to kill. There are cases that are considered criminal cases even if no one is harmed, because the perpetrator violated the laws. An example of these cases is gambling, drug use, and property infringement. In civil cases, a person affected by a fall, slip, or property damage can claim compensation. Important of Civil and Criminal Law: The civil and criminal responsibility is very important for the society. First is the criminal responsibility which arises from the act of every person that might create a crime under the law text, all of this law is to protect the society from different crimes and the right punishment. The punishment might not be only in the form of compensation it might be in form of painful criminal penalty that affect the person freedom or himself and his money this law is to deter others how things they can harm safety and security of the society. Second is the civil responsibility which is repair the harm that caused for others or animals that is under his responsibility. The aim of this law is to deter the damage that caused to other. criminal law role is to prevent the unwanted conduct and reject the individuals who act against the others in the society causing big harm and prevent crimes before it happens and makes individual’s feel safe because there is a law that takes rights and punishes the criminal. The civil law the important part in the privet law which order the financial legal relationships except for those related to trade and it’s a law that coordinate the relations between people. Criminal Law and Common Law fill various needs: The primary role of civil law is to analyze the case and pay material compensation to a person who is psychologically or physically damaged or whose property may be damaged, due to the actions or behavior of another person. On the other hand, the primary role of criminal law is to prevent undesirable behavior and to reject individuals who engage in prohibited and inappropriate acts from society. According to Murray Raff in her 2015 article called “The importance of reforming civil law in formerly socialist legal systems” that in civil law, it is the aggrieved party who files the case. On the contrary, in the Criminal Code, the administration documents the charges and summons the defendants. An aggrieved person can document their objection, but the court administration chooses whether or not to file criminal allegations. In addition, violating the criminal law is considered a major mistake against the state or government According to Michael Parrington in her 2012 article called “A Short History of the Common Law” that it is a violation of common law and not private law. Most of the cases that are related to private law. In certain cases, a person may be permitted to be eligible to document complaint or objection, and to be reassured about the legal framework to repel crime in general in the indictment, while carrying a joint claim for compensation for damages committed by the aggressor. On the contrary, the level of militancy is higher during the application of criminal law procedures. The state must prove their case “transcends reasonable uncertainty”. The purpose of this complex procedure is on the basis that the situation in which the individual has fallen is categorized as questionable, and the overall conviction that a judgment on a person without feeling blamed and reprimanded is more than regrettable than allowing an individual who is to be blamed for freedom. Conclusion: Having examined the important themes about this topic, it can be inferred that the law in general plays a significant role in controlling not only our home life, but the whole world. We have discussed the types of cases which both criminal and civil law deal with and their punishment. We have also discussed the main goal in each criminal and civil law while applying them. Moreover, we got to know the cause of the occurrence of the cases in each law. We saw the definition of Criminal responsibility and civil responsibility and then form of the punishment that the individual will got. Also, we talked about the importance of both criminal and civil law in our society. The basic role of criminal law is to prevent any unwanted behavior from anyone who could affect the safety of the community with his acts. On the other hand, the basic role of the civil law is to repair the harm that caused for any individual in the society. To conclude with, we all agreed that the law in general helps us in arranging and organizing all aspects of our life in all its forms and both civil and criminal law were found to protect everything starting from the property of an individual to the end to the stability and safety of society as a whole. References: Editors, E. (n.d.). Criminal vs. Civil Law: Similarities, Differences & Common. Retrieved May 29, 2020, from https://www.enjuris.com/personal-injury-law/civil-vs- criminal-law.html Erstad, W. (2018, October 29). Civil Law vs. Criminal Law: Breaking Down the Differences ... Retrieved May 29, 2020, from https://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/justice-studies/blog/civil-law-versus-criminal- law/ 5 Differences Between Civil and Criminal Law - The. (2017, June 8). Retrieved May 29, 2020, from http://thecompletelawyer.com/5-differences-civil-criminal-law/ 3 Differences Between Civil Law and Criminal Law | GCU Blogs. (2019, September 23). Retrieved May 29, 2020, from https://www.gcu.edu/blog/criminal-justice- government-and-public-administration/3-differences-between-civil-law-and Murray, R. (2015) The importance of reforming civil law in formerly socialist legal systems. Retrieved Update on November 1, 2015, Pages 24-32, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351667415000086 Michael, P. (2012) A Short History of the Common Law. Retrieved Update on March 16, 2016, from https://blogs.harvard.edu/mparrington73/2016/03/16/a-short-history- of-the-common-law/

Abstract This paper will look at three different dimensions of business law. It will start with an Overview of the Australian legal system looking at separation of powers, the Australian constitution and the federal parliament. It will then look at the issue of contacts of sale, making an argument on their nature that makes them by far the most popular and common commercial contracts before culminating with an overview of business ethics plus a study of various cases of unethical practices in Boeing Company which has been grappling with court cases and dip in public confidence due to some business malpractices. The Australian Legal System The Australian legal system has a fundamental foundation of the rule of law, independence of the judiciary and justice (Henry, 2004). This means the law treats all people, the Australians and the non Australians equally ensuring that everyone is safeguarded from unfair treatment by the government or its officials. The main basic principles of the Australian legal system are the procedural fairness, judicial precedence and the separation of powers. The Australian law system follows the one in the United Kingdom though it is distinct from most of the laws that operate in countries in Europe, South America and Japan. It is referred to as the common laws system and counties like the US, New Zealand and Malaysia use different variations of the law (Neil, 2009). The Australian constitution established a system of government called the federal system and the constitution distributes powers between the states and the federal government. In the constitution are two kinds of powers. There are the exclusive powers that entail the power of the government to make laws on national matters such as trade, taxation, commerce. External issues, national defense, Citizenship and immigration (Terence, 2004). There other powers that the federal government has been given by the constitution are called the concurrent powers where the two governmental tiers are able to make enactment of laws. The territories and the states have legislative powers that are independent in matters that are not particularly addressed to the federal government. If there is an inconsistency or controversy between the state/ territorial laws and the federal ones, the federal laws prevail because they apply to the whole of Australia. Australia has nine legal units; the eight territorial units and the overall federal unit. The day to day lives of the Australians are run by the territorial laws. Each of the federal and state units incorporates various separate branches of the governance system and these are the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. The legislature is responsible for making the laws, the executive administers them while the judiciary which is interprets and makes an application of them. The Australian high court makes an interpretation of the Australian laws and makes the decision on the cases that have federal significance including the validity of the law constitutionally. The high court is headed by the chief justice who is assisted by six other senior judges (Whitmore, 2009). There other courts like the federal court of Australia, the family court of Australia and the federal magistrate’s court which was established by the federal legislature in 1999 and has a wide range of jurisdictions. The Australian territorial courts have jurisdiction in all matters that are brought under the state or the territorial laws. The courts including the self-governing Territories in the North and Capital Territory, which are subject to the overriding Commonwealth's have plenary constitutional powers to make laws that would maintain order and peace in the in the states or the territories that they are made in (Whitmeore,2009). Each state and territorial system of courts is independent and some of the laws vary in nature. The government of Australia understands that people should have access to legal representation in order to ensure common justice. This means that the government can provide legal representation tom individuals who may not have the wherewithal to hire their own representative. Australian, like many other countries does not maintain strict separation of powers between the legislature and the executive sides of the governance. The Australian constitution defines the three governmental branches differently and the ministers in the government are supposed to hold a parliamentary seat. Australia does not maintain a strict separation between the legislative and executive branches of government indeed, government ministers are required to be a Member of Parliament constitution. The federal system of government in Australia means that the legislative powers are usually divided between the states and the common wealth. This is what popularly referred to as federal division of powers is and the enumerated powers are usually enjoyed by the commonwealth though the courts have expanded the scope at which the common wealth can make legal decisions. The northern and the Australian Capital territories are usually subjected to the power of the commonwealth in making full plenary powers especially if the territorial laws are inconsistent with the federal laws. However, the constitution states that there shall not arise a controversy in the interpretation of the federal and the state laws because if such discrepancy arises, the federal law is always superior that the different laws of each state. The States including the self-governing Territories in the North and Capital Territory, which are subject to the overriding Commonwealth's have plenary constitutional powers to make laws that would maintain order and peace in the in the states or the territories that they are made in. This means that most the laws in section 51 are concurrent while the one in the next section are very exclusive to the commonwealth. This further explains that the states can make legislations in the aforementioned areas as long as there is inconsistent with the federal law and this also falls under division of powers. However, a situation where the high court has been largely involved in the interpretation of the constitution has led to a marked increase in the commonwealth powers thus the executive at the expense of the territorial and statutory powers (Whitmore, 2009). The Australian parliament is the arm of the government that makes laws and supervises all the other arms of the federal government and can make changes to the laws if it deems appropriate. The parliament is bi cameral meaning that it consists of a queen, a senate that has seventy six members and house of representative members who are 150 in number. There are two types of senators in the parliament; the state senators and the territory senators and the territory ones are elected using the preferential voting meaning that their term in office is not fixed. The territory senators are more influential in the national decision making because they represent a larger number of citizens that the state senators. Contract of sale A contract of sale is a contract that’s legal for the exchange of goods property or services from the vendor to the purchaser for a value that is agreed upon and they are, without doubt, both the most common and the most important of all commercial contracts. It is an ancient exchange practice recognized by the common laws but the Australian statutory law now recognizes it. The sale of goods contract of 1896 was designed to ensure that the transactions between merchants are straightforward (Salanie, 2003). The most basic application of the contract of sale is the simple transfer of property, goods or services for a monetary consideration that may involve one part owner and another part owner. This means that there are two levels of a contract of sale; absolute and conditional. A sale contract occurs when the property is transferred from a vendor to a purchaser while an agreement to sell is when the contract of sale does not occur immediately, and it is given a future consideration. This means that an agreement to sell becomes a sale after the time span indicated in the agreement elapses. In every transaction that involves the transfer of good s, property and services for monetary consideration, the contract of sale must be involved whether consciously or subconsciously and this capacity to make purchase or conduct sales is usually regulated by the general Australian law under the sales act of 1806. There are even laws that govern contracts of sales made to people who are incapacitated, like the drunks, mad people or even minors who may not have the mental capacity to understand the details of the contract. Most common contracts of sale today are usually done in writing and the writing can be with or without a seal. There are others, albeit in few cases that are made by word of mouth or a combination of the two methods. The law is however different when it comes to contracts of sale and the corporations (Fitzgerald, 2006). The goods that are involved in the contract of sale may be already in existent or may be manufactured or processed later after the contract is made and in the act, this is usually referred as future goods. There may be a contract of sale of goods where the sale depends on the contingency and this may not materialize meaning that in case a contract of sale is purported to effect a present sale of a good that is not already in existence the contract is not yet a contract of sale but an agreement to sell which means that there are chances that it may not materials. The contract becomes void if the goods which the seller and the buyer are transacting have perished without the knowledge of the seller prior to the making of the contract. However, if they perish after an agreement to sell is made; the risk is usually passed to the buyer according to the law. One of the most important factors in a contract of sale is pricing and the price may be fixed by the contract of left blank to be decided by the vendor and the buyer depending on circumstantial considerations in the course of dealership between the two transacting parties (Terry, 2003). Another famous instance in the modern days still under contract of sale is the agreement to sell goods using terms where the price will be fixed by a third party valuation and if that third party cannot make a valuation, the agreement is usually avoided. If the third party is prohibited from making the valuation because of fault of the vendor or the purchaser, the third party usually may seek damages from the two parties at fault. According to the Australian laws, a contract of sale is always subject to a condition that must be fulfilled by the seller and the buyer may decide to waive the condition or even treat that condition as a breach of contract depending on how the seller behaves especially if it is an agreement to sell. The law in the case of a breach of a contract of sale is condition gives repudiations or warranties and ant party can claim for damages arising form the breach but this depends on the construction of the contract and the stipulations that were laid down when the contract was being made. This means that the contact is not severable and the buyer has to accept the goods once the contact is signed and any illogical grounds for rejecting it may lead to the treating of the contract as repudiated (Salanie, 2003). The implied terms in a contract of sale is that the goods are free and they remain free until a time shall come when the property passes to the buyer and the buyer is entitled to enjoy quiet possession of the good unless he or she is intercepted by the seller or any other party related to the contract. One of the most common contracts of sale is the hire purchase (Cossa, 2008). Hire purchase is a close ended leasing and occurs in situation where the buyer cannot afford to pay the price that the seller has quoted at one go or in a lump sum but can afford to pay a fraction of the price as a deposit followed monthly rent figures called installments. In this case, the buyer gains possession of the property before he or she settles the full amount but the seller gets a percentage higher of the original price when the full amount is paid after the agreed period because the hire purchase price is always higher than the ordinary cash price. In most circles, hire purchase is referred to as installment plans or rent to own. In case the buyer does not honor the payment as agreed in the contract, the seller is allowed by the terms in the contract to repossess the property without refunding the deposit and the installments already paid. This is because the contract is even recognized by the law and the action the seller will take will be in accordance with the law. Ethics Business ethics is also known as corporate ethics and it is applied to examine the principles of ethics that arise in business atmosphere and it applies to every aspect of how a business conducts itself. The conduct of individuals in a business, position notwithstanding is relevant in the analysis of business ethics in a certain entity. Ethicism is the focus on ethical processes of business especially in the conscience focused 21st century business environment where pressure is being applied unto businesses to improve on how they conduct themselves ethically. This is because, the gains that are made when a business acts in an unethical manner are short term but the long term effects can be highly detrimental. Most businesses act ethically for a variety of reasons especially avoidance of fines and litigation, improving the reputation in the public realm, protecting the investments of the share holders, and to also protect the market share of the business. An ethical business has a competitive advantage over unethical ones especially because internal corruption is not condoned in such a business. Unethical Practices at Boeing One of the companies that have been riddled by a myriad of unethical practices in the recent past is the leading plane maker, Boeing of the United States (NY Times,2003). These unethical practices range from illegal business deals, accounting malpractices and illicit sexual liaisons involving top executives. The latest blemish on the waning reputation of the aero maker is the sentencing of four years to prison of the chief financial officer at Boeing, Mr. Mike Sears for secretly negotiating with procurement officer at the US air force to lease about 100 planes to be modified so that they can become tankers. The investigations into this illicit deal have cost the government more than 2.5 million dollars. This is one of the most high profile corruption cases that would have cost the government and the taxpayers at large billions of dollars had the secret deal gone though. The public outcry towards the revelations was sharp and acerbic because it exposed the underbelly of Boeing which in the past has had a clean record shying away from various controversies that have tainted a variety of companies in the United States of America. In 2003, Phillip Condit was forced to resign because of widespread criticism against Boeing because of unethical business practices in a series of ethical lapses that has hit the worlds leading aero maker. The resignation was as a result of a lawsuit filed by its competitor, Lockheed, that resulted in pentagon canceling contracts of more than $1 billion that were supposed to be awarded to Boeing and the company was also disqualified from making bids for defense projects for two years. This is because it was found out that the company had been spying on the competitor in a manner that was likely to affect the market presence of the latter. These revelations also brought under scrutiny the tanker project that Boeing had a deal with the US air force. The pressure from the media forced the pentagon to review the deal actually at the negotiation stage. Two top executives had been sacked prior to the resignation of Condit. These top executive had been involved in human resource malpractices where underhand methods were used to hire some top accounting personnel in order to conceal some unethical accounting malpractices that would have seen the government lose billions in revenue from the multi billion dollar aero company. A few months later, the CEO who took over from Condit was also forced to resign after an illicit sexual liaison with a junior female staff that brought the reputation of the company down. Harry Stonecipher did not even make a year at the helm of the embattled air craft manufacturer before he was forced out because of an improper relationship with the female officer. Though the relationship did not have an impact on any business of the company, the revelation of the relationship with the executive young enough to be his daughter is enough to dent the image of the company already grappling with bad publicity due to an upsurge of unethical behaviors. A CEO is supposed to be the one leading in upholding any ethic that is laid out by the company and the conduct of Mr. Stonecipher, did not reflect that of someone who is supposed to lead the way in ensuring that high levels of corporate ethics are followed in the company. It is also a bad example to the young members of the public who are looking up to influential figures like Mr. Stonecipher for motivation and inspiration. The public expects a person holding the position like that to be of unquestionable integrity and ethics and morality which means that Mr. Stonecipher has terribly failed the test and as such cannot be entrusted to hold such a position of public importance. These ethical lapses have brought down the credibility of this are manufacturer down and there has been a lot of media and public scrutiny on the corporate governance of the company. This because Boeing is a blue chip company, a trendsetter in the aviation industry and one of the historical industrial masterpieces in the United States. This means that this is a pride of the nation and any bit of negative development is bound to raise public outcry. There is the accepted code that the CEOs and the top executives of the company were supposed to adhere to that they did not. Staring with the cancelled deal with the US air force, the CEO was supposed handle the deal in a manner that does not betray the corporate image of the company. However, the CEO decided to use underhand methods of spying onto the operations of its main competitor thus compromising it’s the company’s image that is supposed to be without blemish (NY Times,2003). There is no problem if the US air force decided to split the tender and award it to the two rival company but sending officers on an espionage mission to the rival firm in order to scrutinize all their business deals was a contravention of the fair play policy and raised questions about the credibility of Condit as a CEO who was supposed to lead Boeing out of the woods. The move was cheap and tainted the image of the company in the public eye. The public who the company serves also expects the leadership of the company to be responsible and act in a way that would not have a detrimental impact on one of the biggest national symbols. A tainted image of a national symbol taints the whole nation and that is why high quality business practices and ethics are supposed to be upheld (Terry, 2009). The case involving illegal recruitment of accounting executives was a move that was supposed to hide the underhand and unethical accounting principles of the company that were geared towards tax avoidance and other forms of defrauding the government (NY Times, 2003). Once gain, corruption, whether in hiring or in accounting is a very unethical practice that the public does not expect from a company of Boeing stature. It is expected that the company should submit clean accounts fro public auditing but the revelations that illegal hiring were made in order to adulterate the accounts in bid to defraud the government is a stain on the company and that is why the top executives had to be sacked. At a time when the American public has become increasingly conscious of the gradually growing corruption cases in the country corporate and public realms, such revelations coming from a symbolic multinational are just too grave to contemplate (NY Times,2003). As a result of the string of ethical scandals that have hit the company in the recent years, the public confidence in one of Americas biggest exporters of technology has dipped to an all time low and this loss of confidence in the corporate governance can also affect the market share of the company because people will now start questioning the products of the company. The public expects an all round perfection in any company that is in business because if the way the company is being administered is questionable, then even the process of making the goods or providing some services will be in doubt.(Garland,2009) In the mind of the public are a myriad of unanswered question because what has been unearthed about Boeing may be just a fraction of the rot that is in the company and this decay may compromise the company’s efficiency in providing the world class technology that is famed for. This will subsequently dent the competitive advantage that Boeing has been having internationally and giving its competitors space to catch up and even take its market share. The effect of this unethical behavior can be evidenced by the gradual dip of the share prices of the Boeing Company at the local stock market (NY Times, 2003). Bibliography Cossa, L, 2008, Commercial Law II, Willey, NY Fitzgerald, S.R, 2006, Legal Perspectives in Commerce, OUP, Durban Garland, O, 2009, Corporate Ethics, OUP, Oxford Henry, J, U, 2004: The Australian Government, OUP, Oxford. New York Times, 2003, Boeing: Scandal after Scandal, retrieved on 17th Jan 2010 . Neil, P, 2009, Australian Constitution: The History, Harper and Row, London Salanie, B, 2003, Australian Laws: economic perspective, CUP, Cambridge. . Silverman, H.A, 2000, Tax avoidance, OUP, Canberra Terry, E., 2009, Ethical Practices in Corporate Sense, Willey, NY Terence, Y, 2004, Commonwealth Constitutions, OUP, Oxford. Whitmore, B, 2009, Australian Laws, OUP,Canberra.