BUSA2106 1st Edition Lecture 4Outline of Last Lecture I. Corporate Social ResponsibilityII. Global Business EthicsIII. Foreign Corrupt Practices ActOutline of Current Lecture I. Define and classify lawII. Identify sources of lawCurrent Lecture: What is law? • Law consists of enforceable rules governing relationships among individuals and between individuals and their society.- Examples: Click it or Ticket. Primary Sources Law U.S. Constitution/ Constitutional law: The body of law derived from the U.S. Constitution and the constitutions of the various states.o Supremacy Clause: – “This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the UnitedStates, shall be the supreme law of the land.” – Translation: The U.S. Constitution is the supreme law of the land. As such, it is the basis of all law in the United States. A law in violation of the Constitution, if challenged, will be declared unconstitutional and will not be enforced no matter what its source –All 50 states have a constitution Statutory law: Statutes are laws passed by the federal U.S. Congress or the state legislatures – Examples: eliminating or creating government programs.Federal State LocalConstitution Statutory Law Administrative Law Case Law –1 U.S. Congress –50 state legislatures – Uniform laws, e.g. Uniform Commercial Code: A model law created by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws and/or the American Law Institute for the states to consider adopting. If a state adopts the law, it becomes statutory law in that state. Each state has the option of adopting or rejecting all or part of a uniform law. Administrative law : The body of law created by administrative agencies (in the form of rules, regulations, orders, and decisions) in order to carry out their duties and responsibilities. – “Fill in the blanks” left in statutory law – Example: minimum wage Key terms:- Judge-made law: judicial decisions that are derived from the application of particular areas of law to the facts of individual cases – Case law: The rules of law announced in court decisions. Case law includes the aggregate of reported cases that interpret judicial precedents, statutes, regulations, and constitutional provision – Common law: The body of law developed from custom or judicial decisions in English and U.S. courts, not attributable to a legislative- Stare decisis: A common law doctrine under which judges are obligated to follow the precedents established in prior decisions.- Precedent: A court decision that furnishes an example or authority for deciding subsequent cases involving identical or similar facts.- Authority:– BINDING AUTHORITY: Any source of law that a court must follow when deciding a case. Binding authorities include constitutions, statutes, and regulations that govern the issue being decided, as well as court decisions that are controlling precedents within the jurisdiction.– PERSUASIVE AUTHORITY: Any legal authority or source of law that a court may look to for guidance but on which it need not rely in making its decision. Persuasive authorities include cases from other jurisdictions and secondary sources of law How case law works… • No statutory law in some areas, e.g. torts, contracts• Common law developed over time through court
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