International Business Law

article 2 (1) (a) of the Vienna Convention states that

treaty means international agreement concluded between states in written form and governed by international law, whether embodied in a single instrument or two or more related instruments and whatever its particular designation

law of the land

you and I as US citizens are bound

doctrine of sovereign immunity

you must petition your nation-state to tae up your cause

Anti terrorism and effective death penalty act of 1996

grants US federal courts jurisdiction to hear suits against foreign states and their officials and creates a private cause of action for personal injuries and death resulting from state-ponsorded terrorist attacks

conventions

legally binding agreements between states sponsored by international organizations such as the UN

treaty

legally binding agreements between two or more states

custom

most customs have evolved into treaties......how you fight a war and how you treat prisoners of war are examples of customs

standard of care...2

national-foreign citizens must be treated as citizens international- certain standars a country must meet when handling foreign citizens

ICJ composition

the ICK is composed of 15 judges elected to nine-year terms of office by the UN general assembly and security council sitting independently of each other. The members of the court do no represent their gov'ts but are independent magistrates

jurisdiction

the authority of a court to hear a case an rule authority

to establish the state is responsible for an injury to an alien or foreign business, there must be 2 things

1. conduct consisting of inaction or omission....attributable to the state under international law and the conduct must 2. "constitute"....a breach of an international obligation of the state

2 issues dealing with expropriation must be valid

1.public purpose ex. roads, hospitals, bridges 2. compensation-how much is the land worth fair market value adequate compensation- which may not = fair market value (international standard)

the security council

15 members nations 5 permanent....US, France, and China, Russia federation, UK

jurisdiction

the authority or power of a court or tribunal to hear a particular case or dispute

multilateral treaty

treaty between more than two states

European Parliament

the co legislative body ( with the council of the EU) and the main supervisory initiation of the EU

Persona Non Grada

the country from which the diplomat comes, he must return-he can't come back; host country can physically remove if not

international law system origin?

the international law system comes from nation state system

public international law

the law of nations resolved issues between two or more states, and legal relationships between and among states

constitutive doctrine

the legal existence of a state or gov't is dependent on recognition by other states

declaratory doctrine

the legal existence of a state or government happens automatically by operation of law

international atomic energy agency (IAEA)

IGO responsible for supervising the use of fissionable material, developing safety standards, and promoting the peaceful use of atomic energy

international persons

the personalities of the international law are states and their subdivisions, international organizations, businesses, and individuals

advisory jurisdiction

the power of the ICJ to give opinions about issues of international law at the request of the UN or one of its specialized agencies

COMITY

the practice between states of treating each other with goodwill and civility

Functions of the ICJ

The ICJ has a dual role; to settle in accordance with international law the legal disputes submitted to it by states, and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by duly authorized international organs and agencies

European Court of Justice

the supreme tribunal of the EU -composed of 27 judges and 8 advocates-general

mediation

to be in the middle bringing about a peaceful settlement or compromise between parties to a dispute through the benevolent intervention of an impartial third party

negotiation

to carry on business the process of reaching an agreement by conferring or discussing

Treaty rules when countries split

ex. break of the soviet union -merger rule-treaties in affect in former state remain in effect in its territory when it becomes part of new state

calvo clause

a clause in an agreement between a host state and a foreign investor that says that the investor will not seek the diplomatic assistance of his, her, or its home state in resolving disputes with the host state -US does not recognize it because private persons does not bind gov't

denial of justice

a gross deficiency in the administration of justice -(you are innocent but your trial is put off 10-15 years just because) -exists when there is a denial, unwarranted delay or obstruction of access to courts, gross deficiency in the administration of judicial or remedial process, failure to provide those guarantees which are generally considered indispensable to the proper administration of justice, or manifestly unjust judgement

United Nations System

a group of autonomous organizations affiliated with the united nations

customs union

a group of states that have reduced or eliminated trade barriers among themselves and have established a common external tariff

self judging rule

a reservation that allows a state to exclude from the jurisdiction of the ICJ any dispute that it determines is a domestic matter

creeping expropriation

a series of administrative acts that in combination results in depriving persons of their property claims for creeping expropriation in contrast to overt nationalization present OPIC with significant problem: defending de facto, or creeping, expropriation. OPIC had defined it as any act, law, and which have a substantial enough adverse effect another the enterprise or the investor;s rights under the enterprise this definition of course leads to the question of how much is substantial enough. in general, OPIC answers by looking at what happened to the entire investment. OPIC does not insure against partial expropriation or for some diminishment in the value of an investment. Thus, unless an investor is willing to give up all claims to its entire investment, OPIC does not regard the expropriation as being substantial enough

rule of reciprocity

a state has to respond to a suit brought against it before the ICJ only to the extent to which the state bringing the suit has also accepted the jurisdiction of the court

nation state

a system that developed 400 years ago; family recent development (gov't for each country) -reached its high point in 17th 18th and 19th century

constitutional treaty

a treaty adopted according to the constitutional provisions of the ratifying state

dispositive treaty

a treaty concerned with rights over territory such as boundaries and servitudes

self executing treaty

a treaty containing a term that says that it is directly effective within the signatory states upon ratification -directly affective within the signatory states upon ratification

executive agreement

a treaty of international agreement entered into by a state's executive without following the state's constitutionally required ratification procedure. it is not effective domestically.

non-self-executing treaty

a treaty that requires state parties to enact enabling legislation before it becomes effective domestically -us legislation must enforce that you and I follow it before we are bound ex. turtle excluding device

international property insurance

foreign commercial property insurance-covers financial losses from damage to an insured's overseas buildings and their contents, damage to the facilities of an overseas supplier or customer, loss of property in the study of a sales person, and lost of income from foreign royalties -marine cargo insurance-protects goods in transit, whether by land, sea, or air comprehensive dishonesty, disappearance, and destruction insurance-refer to book page 86

recognition

formal acknowledgment or acceptance by a government of the independence and sovereignty of newly created state or of a newly established government in another state, especially one established by revolution

bilateral treaty

formal binding agreement between two states

persistent objection

active rejection of a customary practice from its first observance by other states

failure to exhaust remedies

all remedies must be exhausted within country before asking the US for help

optional clause jurisdiction

allows states to make unilateral declaration recognizing as a compulsory ipso factor and without special agreement, in relation to any other state accepting the same obligation, the jurisdiction of the court in all legal disputes.

the EU

an IGO that has as its goals the elimination of internal frontiers and the establishment of a political, economic, and monetary union -the first IGO that has supra authority; they have say so over the gov't of Europe ( not all but some) -started of as customs union

organs

an agency that carries on speck functions within a larger organization

Nongovernmental organization

an international organizations made up of organizations other than states

diplomats

an official representing a country abroad. now how they work -families have immunity too

private international law

applied to the laws governing conduct between people from different states

todays international law....

applies to any conduct outside the boundaries of states, whether of a public or private nature

IGO's intergovernmental organization

are permanent organizations set up by two or more states to carry on activities of common interest. Modern IGO's evened from the european practice of convening conferences at the end of wars to draw new boundaries and sign peace treaties

state responsibility

are set within the framework of an international legal system where sovereignty is the most basic principle

non imputable acts

because states are only responsible for actions taken by their officials, they are not responsible for the acts of private persons, acts of officials of other states or international organizations, or acts of insurrectionaries within their own territories

Contentious Jurisdiction

before the ICJ can hear a contentious case, all of the states parties to the proceeding must have recognized the courts contentious jurisdiction. This is most commonly done on an ad hoc basis; that is , parties to an existing dispute negotiate a special agreement to let the ICJ decide the case. Sometimes these agreements are made permanent by being included in a bilateral treaty. Less common and more controversial means by which the courts can acquire jurisdiction is through unilateral declarations made by each of the parties

creeping expropriation

companies fail due to gov't relations then gov't comes in and buys the company

Article 1 section 8

congress is and only congress ca regulate commerce with foreign nations

ex. of custom

countries have authority to control the waters near their coast (12 miles of your coast)"Freedom of the Seas" is a custom is a custom -countries control sea bed 200 miles out Libia claims gulf but everyone says No "persistently objects"

International Law

deals with three kinds of international relationships 1-those between states and states 2-those between states and persons 3 those between persons and persons

clean slate doctrine

doctrine that a new state coming into existence through decolonization is under no obligation to succeed to the treaties of its former colonial power

international standard of care

doctrine that a state is responsible for injuring an alien when state's conduct violates international norms -this standard says that although a country has no obligation to admit aliens to its territory, once it does, it must treat them in a civilized manner

national standard of care

doctrine that a state must treat aliens the same way that it treats its own nationals

estrada doctrine

doctrine that foreign governments will not be explicitly recognized

the rights of individuals under international law

either it ignores you as a person (corporation included) or it treats you as a subject -you have no standing as an individual to sue a nation state as an individual

general assembly

ever country has a member that votes and has certain moral authority -not much huge authority

territorial basis for taking jurisdiction over a case involving foreign actors

if a business incorporated in one state operates a manufacturing facility in another state and violates the law of the other state, the other state will have the well recognized power under customary international law to hear and decide a case against the foreign defendant

doctrine of imputability

if gov't official takes advantage of authority; when act outside authority but claims country game them authority -soldiers have orders but decide to do more than buried so gov't is reliable for situation -US hostages in Philippines and Philippine troops act outside authority

state=country

in international context (state=gov't)

treaty

in the US our president negotiates treaties -although he negotiates he has to have 2/3 of two senates vote to be legally binding -president in commander and chief in the US -congress only outfit that can declare war and they have to fund the war

insurance

is the contractual commitment by an insurer to indemnify an insured against specific contingencies and perils. for multinational enterprises, the contingencies and perils of operating abroad include those common to domestic businesses--such as property losses, casualty losses, and losses suffered by employees--as well as special losses arising from political violence and political instability

terrorism

is the sustained clandestine use of violence--murder, kidnapping, threats, bombings, torture, or some combination of these--for a political purpose

specialty coverages

kidnap, ransom, and extortion insurance-covers losses resulting from kidnapping, wrongful detention, bodily injury extortion, property damage extortion, product contamination extortion, trade secret extortion, hijacking, and blackmail sabotage and terrorism insurance-covers losses to an insured's overseas facilities and operations caused by saboteurs and terrorists political risk insurance-covers loses from the unexpected, discriminatory, or arbitrary acts by foreign gov't, such as confiscation, expropriations, or nationalization of assets; currency inconvertibility; war and political violence; contract repudiations, and the wrongful calling of "on demand" garnets

merger rule

legal rule that the treaties in effect in a former state remain in effect in its territory when it becomes part of a new state

moving boundaries rule

legal rule that the treaties of a state absorbing new territory become effective within the absorbed territory

lack of standing

objection that may be made to an international tribunal's exercise of jurisdiction when a plaintiff is not qualified to appear before the court

lack of nationality

objection that may be made to an international tribunal's exercise of jurisdiction when the state bringing suit is doing so on behalf of a person who is not national of that state

failure to exhaust remedies

objection that may be made to an international tribunal's relief from the defendant state

succession of states

occurs when 1-two states agree to join and form a single state or 2- a state dissolves and its constituent states assume the role of independent states. Disputes between two sovereign states over state succession are not matters for municipal courts to decide

state responsibility for terrorism

often limited to helping other states bring terrorists to trial ex.the UN security council adopted a resolution in 1992 demanding that Libya, extradite to France, the UK, or the US two alleged terrorist suspected of putting a bomb aboard the Pan American airliner that blew up over Lockerbie, Scotland, but it imposed no sanctions on Libya

supra national

over and above nations gov't j

supranational powers

powers surrendered by member states to an IGO. Such powers are superior to and preempt the laws and regulations of its member states. In exercising these powers, the organizations may grant rights and privileges to the nationals of its member states, which those individuals may directly invoke

general principles

principles of law common to the world's legal systems

council of the EU

representatives of the member state governments and the co-legislatve body of the EU

usus

requires consistent and recurring action (or lack of action if the custom is one of noninvolvement) by states.

doctrine of imputability

says that a state is only responsible for actions that are imputable (attributable) to it. the usual interpretation of this theory is that the state is responsible for acts done by officials within their apparent authority, this includes 1) acts within the scope of officials authority and 2) acts outside their scope of authority if the state provided the means or facilities to accomplish the act. Thus, states are responsible both for mistaken actions and even for actions done contrary to express orders or even internal laws of the state

customary law

some rules have been around for such a long time or are so generally accepted that they are described as customary law 1-consistently and regularly observed 2-recognized by those states observing it as a practice that they must obligatorily follow

objections

states can raise several objections to complaints brought against them, including lack of standing lack of nationality, lack of genuine link; and failure to exhaust remedies

expropriation

taking of private property by a gov't

European COmmison

th administrative and executive arm of the EU

International Court of Justice (ICJ)

the ICJ is the principal judicial organ of the UN. It is at the Peace Palace in The Hague, The Netherlands. It began work in 1946, when it replaced the permanent court of international justice, which had functioned in the Peace Palace since 1922. it operates under a statue largely similar to that of its predecessor, which is an integral part of the United Nations Charter.