INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS LAW

LEGAL SYSTEM?

LEGAL SYSTEM = The norms that govern the behavior of the members of a particular society The effectiveness of a legal system is based on sanctions

Private International Law International Business Law Becomes part of the state’s Private International Law Becomes part of the state’s Private International Law Public International Law Comparative Law International Business Law §§ §§ CONVENTION §§

2. Public International Law 3. Private International Law CONTENTS OF THE COURSE 1. Comparative Law 2. Public International Law 3. Private International Law 4. International Business Law 1) Contracts 2) Trade 3) Transport 4) Means of Payment 5) Settlement of Disputes 6) Intellectual Property rights

COMPARATIVE LAW

2. ANGLO-AMERICAN SYSTEM 3. SOCIALISTIC LEGAL SYSTEMS 1. CIVIL LAW THE ROMANO GROUP THE GERMANIC GROUP 2. ANGLO-AMERICAN SYSTEM = Common Law 3. SOCIALISTIC LEGAL SYSTEMS 4. ISLAMIC LEGAL SYSTEMS

HISTORY OF ROMANO-CERMANIC CIVIL LAW SYSTEM ROME 12 tables 450 B.C. Corpus Iuris Civilis 528-534 A.D. CATHOLIC CHURCH > Canon law GLOSSATORS, COMMENTATORS, STUDENTS, 1000-1100 A.D. Effects on the English law Ius Commune (Common law of Europe) GUILDS, MERCHANTS Lex Mercatoria Legal nationalism 1500-1600 A.D. Has grown out of the Roman Law Twelve Tables, 450 B.C. Corpus Juris Civilis, 538-534 A.D. - COMPILATION AND CODIFICATION (selection, arrangement and simplification) of all Roman law done under the direction of Emperor Justinian Considered as 1. A common source of law above the local statutes (partikulaaristatuutit) 2. A set of rules regulating the relations between the different statutes Was displaced to some extent by the rules of the Germanic tribes when they overran the Western Empire > German tribal law - recognized the principle of personal law (as opposed to territorial), so the former Roman subjects and their descendants were allowed to follow the Roman law Was affected by Catholic church => Canon Law: used in the Church’s courts Practical version => jus commune From 17th century on: national souvereignity was emphasized (luonnonmukaisuus) Merchants’ needs => lex mercatoria 19th century: 1893, Hague Conference of Private International Law -> pursuit of connections (kiinteät liittymät) 20th century: 1954 -> material unification, harmonization of laws Followed by: Austria, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Hungary, Switzerland, Turkey, Japan, South Korea, Scandinavian countries… Followed by: The Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Spain, Portugal, Latin America, Indochina, sub-Saharan Africa, Indonesia… Effects on national jurisdictions German Civil Code 1896 Code Napoleon 1804

CIVIL LAW AND COMMON LAW

CHARACTERISTICS OF RULINGS: INTERNATIONAL ACCEPTANCE: COMPARISON BETWEEN CIVIL LAW COMMON LAW BASIC SOURCE: Codified law, abstract principles Specific circumstances => precedents => case law FACT FINDER: Judge Jury CHARACTERISTICS OF RULINGS: Predictability, consistency, uniformity Unpredictability, flexibility, procedural emphasis EFFECTS ON BUSINESS: Contracts can be lacking in detail Contracts must be comprehensive and detailed INTERNATIONAL ACCEPTANCE: Focus on national issues Refined to cope with issues of international trade

PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW

Scope of Public International Law: Position of states State succession State responsibility Peace and security Laws of war Law of treaties Law of the sea Law of international watercourses Conduct of diplomatic relations International organisations Economy and development Nuclear energy Air law and outer space activities Use of the resources of the deep sea Environment Communications International protection of human rights

Subjects of Public International Law: States Associations of states International organisations established by states (UN, Red Cross etc.) Sometimes even private people

STATES A state has its own people and its own sovereign territory

THE UNITED NATIONS Goals: Provide for international peace Promote world wide social progress Foster a universal respect for international law. Organs of the UN General Assembly Security Council Secretariat Economic and Social Council International Court of Justice Resolves legal disputes between sovereign states Issues advisory opinions asked by international organizations

Sources of Public International Law: Conventions between states International customary law General principles of law Preliminary rulings of the international courts International legal literature and expert statements

Characteristic to Public International Law: It lacks a supreme authority effective sanctions centralisation of the use of force