Chapter 2

What are the five possible bases for U.S. courts to exercise their jurisdiction?

Territoriality, Nationality, Protective Principle, Passive Personality, and Universality.

Jurisdiction over acts of terror or terrorism is hard to define. How so?

Terrorism is to new to the landscape of the world. "One mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter." Terrorism is not universally or truly defined.

What is the most frequently cited authority for the sources of international law?

The Statue of the International Court of Justice, the judicial arm of the UN.

Law merchant

The accepted customs and practices of ancient and medieval merchants, traders, bankers, mariners, and ship owners.

International Business Law (IBL)

The body of law and regulations, derived from national and international sources, that governs cross-border business transactions, the activities of those doing business in foreign countries or subject to the jurisdiction of foreign courts, and the resolution international business disputes

Ratification

The formal expression of a nation's consent. The formal agreement of a signatory nation to be bound by the treaty, usually by its own legislative approval.

Roman Law

The law code of the ancient Romans, which forms the basis of civil law in many countries today.

Signatories

The nations adopting a treaty. Nations that express their willingness to join a treaty.

Jurisdiction

The power of a court to act, criminal jurisdiction is the power of a court to hear a criminal case and to act over a defendant.

Extraterritoriality or Extraterritorial jurisdiction

The principle that a nation can project its laws - its jurisdiction - beyond its territorial borders.

The Law of Nations

Used in reference to that part of ancient Roman law that governed public and private relations with foreigners and with the rulers of foreign lands.

Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES)

a private, mostly American network of environmental groups, socially conscious investors, and companies committed to following these principles of environmental and social accountability.

code of conduct

a set of rules outlining the norms, rules, and responsibilities or proper practices of an individual party or an organization. In the U.S. the guidelines for sentencing corporate offenders allow for reduced fines and sentences if a defendant can show that it has had one of these and a compliance program to reduce the likelihood of criminal conduct.

Universal jurisdiction

allows states or international organizations to claim criminal jurisdiction over an accused person regardless of where the alleged crime was committed, and regardless of the accused's nationality, country of residence, or any other relation with the prosecuting entity

Multilateral Treaty

A treaty between three or more countries

Bilateral Treaty

A treaty made between two nations

Self-executing treaty

A treaty that automatically creates rights that are enforceable in the courts of that country, without any further legislative action. The treaty is immediately binding on courts, government agencies, and individuals.

A self-executing treaty is known in Europe as a what?

A treaty with "direct effect"

Nonself-executing treaty

A treaty without direct effect, is one that requires some additional legislative act before it becomes enforceable in national courts. Most treaties are this in the U.S because it depends on the words and history of the treaty and the intent of U.S. Congress.

CERES Principles

A widely used set of ten policy statements, issued by an organization of environmental, labor, and social investor groups in the wake of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, to be used as models for businesses to express and practice environmental sensitivity

What are the reasons for International Business Law (IBL) becoming more uniform between countries and regions of the world?

Accelerating forces of free trade, the need for nations to cooperate, intergovernmental organizations, international tribunals, and roles of private industry organizations and trade associations. Business functions best when the law is clear and predictable. Uniformity creates predictability and Free Trade drives uniformity.

International Norms

Commonly accepted rules of conduct, unwritten rules, or expectations of behavior

Mixed Civil Law

Countries in much of Africa (with tribal or customary law), and Pakistan and many Middle Eastern countries (with Islamic law) have this form of law.

Contracting Parties

Countries that have ratified

What do Civil Law systems include?

Judges do not create binding precedent (every case is separate), judges take a more inquisitorial role in criminal cases, and in contract and tort cases, civil law judges do the work of both judge and jury.

What are the factors influencing differences in International Business Law?

National courts' interpretations (often different interpretations), differences in national legal systems, varying levels of economic development, and national attitudes toward economics; that is free market vs. strong central government control.

Nationality jurisdiction

individuals and corporate citizens owe duties to comply with the laws of their countries of nationality no matter where they are in the world

Protective jurisdiction

jurisdiction over noncitizens for acts comitted abroad on the basis of a country's need to protect its national security, vital economic interests, and government functions

UN Global Compact

partnership of international companies public interest groups, and UN agencies who pledge to support a set of voluntary principles on human rights, labor standards the environment, and corruption

Common Law System

where the decisions of judges become the law of the case, a legal precedent that binds judges in deciding similar cases in the future. The U.S. uses this system.

What are some characteristics that distinguish International law from a country's national or domestic law?

1. Instead of being dictated by a legislative body, international law consists of rules that countries agree to follow. It is lawmaking by choice and by consent. 2. Despite some commonly misunderstood beliefs about the United Nations and other international bodies, there is no global authority for enforcing international law. However, the use of force is also limited in Int'l law.

What are the three major legal systems in place around the world today?

1. Common Law 2. Civil Law 3. Islamic Legal Systems

According to Article 38 of the Statue of the International Court of Justice, the primary sources of international law are what?

(1) international treaties and conventions, (2) international customs, as evidence of a general practice accepted as law, and (3) the general principles of law recognized by civilized nations.

Customary international law

A body of commonly accepted rules of conduct that have arisen out of consistent and long-standing practice, and that nations have followed out of a sense of binding obligation. This is what a lot of international law is. A treaty has precedence over this.

Napoleonic Code

A comprehensive and uniform system of French civil laws introduced in 1804 by Napoleon. This code was the model for the new legal systems of Latin America on their independence.

Treaty

A legally binding agreement between two or more nations that is recognized and given effect under international law. They are are the most important form of international agreement and a primary source of international law.

Convention

A legally binding multilateral treaty on matters of common concern, usually negotiated on a regional or global basis and open to adoption by many nations.

Abrogation

An act of a national legislature that renders a treaty null and void in that nation.

Protocol

An agreement that modifies or adds to a treaty or convention, or that deals with matters less significant than those dealt within treaties. An amendment to a treaty.

Reservation

An exception to a treaty set out by a signatory country at the time of ratification.

Treaties of Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation (FCN)

Bilateral agreements that provide a broad range of protection to foreign nationals doing business in a host country. These were used extensively by the U.S. before 1967 and are now superseded by multilateral agreements or more specific agreements.

What does International Business Law (IBL) include?

Both public and private international law and overlaps with "international economic law," a term used by some international lawyers.

Private International Law

Deals with the rights and responsibilities of private individuals or corporations as between themselves when operating in an international environment.

The U.S. Alien Tort Statute (ATS)

Enacted in 1789, it gave the U.S. federal courts jurisdiction over civil actions for damages brought by non-U.S. citizens for torts committed against them by other noncitizens outside of the United Sates in violation of the norms of customary international law.

What does the Statute of the International Court of Justice do?

It sets both primary and secondary sources of international law. It has no enforcement power.

What is the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations?

Governs diplomatic rules governing embassy personnel such as Ambassadors, embassy officers, and staff

Public International Law

Governs the conduct of nations in their relationships with each other and with individuals as citizens or residents. Norms that are regarded as binding on all members of the international community.

What are the sources of international law?

In order of precedence: International treaties and conventions, customary international law, and general principles of law recognized by civilized nations. It is influenced by International courts and tribunals.

What are some examples of Private International Law?

International business transactions, such as sales contracts, international shipping, or the liability of commercial airlines to injured passengers. International family law, such as rules for international adoptions, wills and decedents' estates who own property in more than one nation.

Sharia

Islamic law is known as this and it means "divine law." Islamic judges do not issue written opinions.

compulsory jurisdiction

Nations that agree in advance to submit certain types of cases to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) are said to have submitted to this, although this too is voluntary and may be withdrawn.

Pacta sunt servanda

One of the most important principles of treaty law is "the pact must be respected", meaning that treaties are binding on the parties by consent and must be performed by them in good faith.

What do Common Law systems include?

Precedent can be overridden by a later statute, cases are more adversarial, and judges are lawyers.

Territoriality or Territorial jurisdiction

Refers to a nation's jurisdiction over all persons (citizens and noncitizens), places, and property within the territory, airspace, or territorial waters of a country and to crimes committed on vessels flying that nation's flag.

What are some examples of Public International Law?

Resolving boundary disputes, trade, international waters, or how nations treat foreign citizens.

What are some examples of customary international law?

Rules for prosecuting the crimes of slavery, piracy, or genocide, rules for diplomatic immunity and the protection of ambassadors, rules for the inviolability of embassies, rules that protect civilians during war or rules governing the seizure of private vessels during wartime.

According to Article 38 of the Statue of the International Court of Justice, the secondary sources of international law are what?

Secondary sources provide evidence of what international law might be or how it should be interpreted. These include the decisions of international courts and tribunals, and to a lesser extent, the scholarly writings of respected jurists and legal scholars.

International Law

The rules that countries agree are the rules. The body of rules that has been accepted as such by the international community. The body of rules applicable to the conduct of nations in their relationships with other nations, and with individuals and other private parties, rules for settling disputes between nations, as well as rules for intergovernmental organizations.

Describe International Law?

The term international law is thought to be derived from the Latin term jus gentium, meaning "the law of nations." To this day, it is accepted that this law arises not from the work of some supranational legislature, but because nations have agreed to follow customary and accepted rules or norms and to comply with treaties and conventions on which they agree.

The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (1969)

This Convention codifies many of the customary international law rules for establishing treaties, application of treaties, interpretation of treaties, and rules for modification and termination. It became effective in 1980 in about half of the countries of the world. Although the treaty has not been ratified by the U.S., many U.S. courts apply its provisions as customary law.

What is extremely important about the Paquette Habana?

This case was the first instance that established that customary international law became U.S. law.

What are the sources of International Business Law (IBL)?

Treaties and Conventions, Statutes/Acts, Law Merchant (maritime law/admiralty), the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG), and codes of conduct/rules of international business orgs.

stare decisis

the common law doctrine that means the courts should "let the decision stand" unless it is overruled by a higher authority.

What is reciprocity?

the practice of exchanging things with others for mutual benefit, especially privileges granted by one country or organization to another. In terms of treaties, it refers to countries favoring holding up their end of the bargain.

diplomatic protection

the right of one nation to take diplomatic or judicial action to protect the rights of a person to whom it has granted nationality from a violation of international law by another nation

Civil law

the system of law concerned with private relations between members of a community rather than criminal, military, or religious affairs. Refers to those modern legal systems that are derived from ancient Roman law. Most of the western world, including Europe, uses this system.

Passive personality jurisdiction

this jurisdiction gives a country the right to hear cases stemming from crimes committed against their own citizens by noncitizens outside of their own territories.