General legal issues 1 (lecture)
Rule = something that tells us what to do or what not to do and how you have to behave
Definitions of Law:
o A collection of Acts of Parliament or another national or international legislative body
o A collection of rules (commands and prohibitions) that apply in the Netherlands and
that we must follow
o A collection of rules and principles that apply in the Netherlands
o That which is perceived as just, or served equality, or aims for peace or facilitates
commercial transactions
Case law = that which is said to be law in individual cases (judicial decisions)
Courts, lawyers, compensation, police, politicians and legislation justice
Law = a system of rules, usually made by a government, that are used to order the way in
which a society behaves
Ethics = a system of accepted moral rules that control behaviour
Same purpose: aim to control or regulate the way we behave
Difference: ethical rules cannot be enforced, with law there are legal consequences and law
is more than a bunch of constraints and restrictions
Three R’s of Law: (balanced) everyone must behave reasonably
Right
Responsibility (duties of care)
Reasonably = taking into account the other parties and their interests
‘Law is everywhere’, because wherever we are we have to act against rules and the law
Only aware of the law when something goes wrong
Ignorance of the law is no excuse, professionals are expected to have relevant legal
knowledge
Business Law = any and all legal rules that apply to forming and running a business
Business (economic term)= organisations that aims to make a profit
Stakeholder = a person with an interest or concern in the performance of a company for
reasons other than stock performance or appreciation
Shareholder = an owner of shares of stock in a company
Difference: shareholders are always stakeholders in a corporation, but stakeholders are not
always shareholders
Legal systems:
o Common law (case law) Originated in Normandie (France), England took over
and introduced a system of law to the US, Australia, India and Canada
o Civil law (codified statutes) Started in Rome when Napoleon exported the the civil
law system to the European, such as the Netherlands
, Difference:
1) Historical origins
2) Development of law common law developed through case law and in civil
countries statute law was more important
3) Precedent (earlier decisions) = an earlier event or action that is regarded as an
example to be considered in subsequent similar circumstances
Two main branches:
o Public law = law applies to the relationship between an individual and the government
(example: criminal law, tax law) rule of law/rechtsstaat = the people who have
the power to make laws and impose those laws are alos bound by these laws
themselves
o Private law = law applies to relationships between individuals in a legal system
(example: contract law and employment law)
Criminal law: no lawyer (free to defend yourself)
Private court: both parties must have a lawyer
Private court (lowest court): family
International law
o Treaties
o Conventions
= contracts between the states and all international organisations
EU law
o Regulations and directives
= a rule or directive made and maintained by an authority
= an official or authoritative instruction
o The Four Freedoms
= govern the movement of goods, persons, services and capital within the EU
• Free movement of goods
• Free movement of capital
• Freedom to establish and provide services
• Free movement of persons
The CISG (United Nations convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods) /
Vienna Convention is a case in point
= a number of uniform rules
o Define the obligations
o Professional, commercial buyers and sellers
o Different contracting states
o Either within or outside the EU (International)
o Regard certain commercial goods and products
o Apply automatically unless their applicability is explicitly excluded in the sales contract
Rule = something that tells us what to do or what not to do and how you have to behave
Definitions of Law:
o A collection of Acts of Parliament or another national or international legislative body
o A collection of rules (commands and prohibitions) that apply in the Netherlands and
that we must follow
o A collection of rules and principles that apply in the Netherlands
o That which is perceived as just, or served equality, or aims for peace or facilitates
commercial transactions
Case law = that which is said to be law in individual cases (judicial decisions)
Courts, lawyers, compensation, police, politicians and legislation justice
Law = a system of rules, usually made by a government, that are used to order the way in
which a society behaves
Ethics = a system of accepted moral rules that control behaviour
Same purpose: aim to control or regulate the way we behave
Difference: ethical rules cannot be enforced, with law there are legal consequences and law
is more than a bunch of constraints and restrictions
Three R’s of Law: (balanced) everyone must behave reasonably
Right
Responsibility (duties of care)
Reasonably = taking into account the other parties and their interests
‘Law is everywhere’, because wherever we are we have to act against rules and the law
Only aware of the law when something goes wrong
Ignorance of the law is no excuse, professionals are expected to have relevant legal
knowledge
Business Law = any and all legal rules that apply to forming and running a business
Business (economic term)= organisations that aims to make a profit
Stakeholder = a person with an interest or concern in the performance of a company for
reasons other than stock performance or appreciation
Shareholder = an owner of shares of stock in a company
Difference: shareholders are always stakeholders in a corporation, but stakeholders are not
always shareholders
Legal systems:
o Common law (case law) Originated in Normandie (France), England took over
and introduced a system of law to the US, Australia, India and Canada
o Civil law (codified statutes) Started in Rome when Napoleon exported the the civil
law system to the European, such as the Netherlands
, Difference:
1) Historical origins
2) Development of law common law developed through case law and in civil
countries statute law was more important
3) Precedent (earlier decisions) = an earlier event or action that is regarded as an
example to be considered in subsequent similar circumstances
Two main branches:
o Public law = law applies to the relationship between an individual and the government
(example: criminal law, tax law) rule of law/rechtsstaat = the people who have
the power to make laws and impose those laws are alos bound by these laws
themselves
o Private law = law applies to relationships between individuals in a legal system
(example: contract law and employment law)
Criminal law: no lawyer (free to defend yourself)
Private court: both parties must have a lawyer
Private court (lowest court): family
International law
o Treaties
o Conventions
= contracts between the states and all international organisations
EU law
o Regulations and directives
= a rule or directive made and maintained by an authority
= an official or authoritative instruction
o The Four Freedoms
= govern the movement of goods, persons, services and capital within the EU
• Free movement of goods
• Free movement of capital
• Freedom to establish and provide services
• Free movement of persons
The CISG (United Nations convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods) /
Vienna Convention is a case in point
= a number of uniform rules
o Define the obligations
o Professional, commercial buyers and sellers
o Different contracting states
o Either within or outside the EU (International)
o Regard certain commercial goods and products
o Apply automatically unless their applicability is explicitly excluded in the sales contract
