Английский язык. Практический курс для решения бизнес-задач
Шрифт:
Forecasts, etc.)
Financial Statements (Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Cash Flow Statement)
Break Even Analysis
Key Ratio Projections (Quick Ratio, Current Ratio, D/E, D/A, ROE, ROA, Working
Capital)
Financial Resources
Financial Strategy
XII. Summary and Conclusions
Lesson 38
Business Law
Read and translate the texts and learn terms from the Essential Vocabulary.
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
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.