Topic_1_LO
Business Law 1100
Lecture outline
Topic 1- Introduction and the nature and function of law Administrative matters
The first part of the seminar covers an explanation of how to successfully study in this course. In particular you need to understand:
?The tuition pattern of the course; that it operates as a package: three hour seminar (lecture and case study), prescribed readings, computer-based tutorial
and revision notes.
?How to install the First Principles of Business Law software.
?There are early pieces of assessment in this course so you need to get “on-board”
quickly.
Business Law 1100
The nature and function of law
Learning outcomes
After completing this topic, you should be able to:
?Understand the nature and function of the law and introduce the concept of …business law?
?provide an initial definition of law
?explain the difference between various branches of the law.
?explain key legal terms and concepts
Lecture outline
1. Law in an everyday context
Many aspects of daily life are governed or affected by the law. Consider and explain each of the terms listed below. Each term refers to a generally recognised …division?, …area? or …category? of law.
Criminal law
Tort law
Contract law
Property law
Administrative law
Constitutional law
International law
Corporations law
Dividing legal rules into areas helps to clarify the nature and structure of the law. Each different type (or area) of law is concerned with particular types of conduct or situation. Different types of law are often reflected in newspaper headlines. For example “Arsonist jailed for ten years” reflects the operation of criminal law.
2. What is ‘Business Law’?
Business law consists of selected rules of law that are of particular relevance to business activities. For example, business law includes aspects of contract, tort law, criminal law, plus selected topics from other traditional divisions of law.
Knowledge of business law is important because it enables a person to:
?recognise the legal aspect of typical business situations and understand the legal rules involved
?know the extent to which they can rely on legal rights and duties
?know how to use the law constructively to achieve desired outcomes. For example: o enforceable agreements for goods and services can be created
Business Law 1100
o property rights can be acquired and protected
o business organisations can be created
o financial systems can be used.
3. Legal and non-legal rules
Law consists of rules of conduct or organisation that are recognised, applied and enforced by the power of the state. Non-legal rules are rules of conduct or organisation that are enforced by things such as peer pressure, a need for co-operation, feelings of goodwill, or convenience.
Non-legal rules are derived from:
?moral or philosophical beliefs
?religious beliefs
?the law of nature
?social values
?rules that have become customary in a community.
Non-legal rules work well enough in smaller groups or communities but in larger groups they become inadequate. Law tends to emerge in all larger societies as a necessary means of regulating conduct.
4. Some important terms and phrases
A structure of law diagram:
?In studying law, you will encounter references not just to ‘the law’ as a whole and to the major ‘areas of law’, but also to things such as legal
‘concepts’, ‘principles’, and ‘rules’. What do these terms mean? Discuss the structure and contents of the following diagram:
Business Law 1100
‘Legal system’means all the legal principles and rules that exist in a particular country.‘Legal system’also means all the additional things that contribute to the operation of law in society, i.e.
?mechanisms for creating and changing the law
?mechanisms for administering and enforcing the law
?mechanisms for preserving and perpetuating the law.
5. Law and justice
In basic terms, legal rules are applied to specified facts in order to decide the outcome. In other words, the proper outcome or result of a case is deduced by applying the relevant rules of law to the proved facts. For example:
Facts: Peter, who is 34 years old, has stolen $1000.
Issue: How should Peter be punished?
Rule: All persons found guilty of serious theft must go to prison.
Decision: Peter must go to prison.
Deciding questions in this way can be described as a strictly “legal” approach. The correct decision is normally presumed to result from the logical process.
Generally, as well as bein g logical, legal decisions ought to be …just?. Justice can be thought of as involving at least two elements:
?everybody should be treated in the same way unless there are significant differences in the circumstances
Business Law 1100
?outcomes should not be unduly harsh.
Sometimes, the strictly logical application of rules needs to be adjusted to achieve a just outcome. In other cases, justice may require recognising additional facts as significant. For example:
Facts: William, who is 12 years old, has stolen $1000.
Issue: How should William be punished?
Would it be fair to apply the rule that all persons found guilty of serious theft must go to prison? Obviously not. To send a child to prison would be in an obviously harsh outcome, and justice requires that outcomes should not be unduly harsh or unfair.
We need to decide William?s case differently
The strictly logical application of existing rules promotes certainty and predictability. The fair and just nature of decisions promotes respect and support for the law. These considerations must be balanced.
An structure of law
Topic 1 Case study
Law as a mechanism of organisation and regulation
Legal and non-legal issues
In any given situation it is likely that there will be a variety of important issues. For example, in a sale transaction, there are often economic and practical issues as well as legal issues to take into account. It is important to be able to analyse a situation, identify the legal issues and separate them from other issues.
For example, in deciding whether to buy an item in a local shop or in an on-line
auction, there may be financial issues (the cheapest price); practical issues (how to pay, delay in getting delivery); and legal issues (non-delivery, faulty goods,
etc).
Business Law 1100
Business Law 1100