Commercial Law: Origins, Sources, and Business Transactions
Concept of Common Law
Main origins founded in social and economic factors in the Middle Ages.
- Merchants started a new system of special rules that became custom, recorded in writings.
- There is a mutual relationship between the civil and the code of commerce, based on a general to special relationship.
Hierarchy of Sources of Law
Contained in the civil code, statutes, customs and PGD.
- The Law:
- Commercial code: body of regulations from XIX century, whose main value is to organise and unify all the concepts
Key Aspects of Free Speech, Defamation, and Legal Jurisdiction
Key Legal Concepts
1. Time, Manner, and Place Restrictions on Speech
These restrictions are content-neutral, focusing on the timing, manner, or location of speech, not the subject matter. The government must have an important interest and provide alternative avenues for expression.
2. Unprotected Speech
- Obscenity: Material deemed legally obscene due to its offensive nature and sexual conduct.
- Fighting Words: Words that provoke an immediate violent reaction.
- False and Misleading Information: Statements
Understanding Judge-Made Law and Precedent in Australia
Few Australian laws were made by parliaments prior to 1850. Judges decided each case as it came to court. They wrote down the reasons for their decisions, and these are called judgments. The important judgments were published in books known as law reports.
Judges were (and still are) bound by a strong tradition to decide each similar case along the lines of earlier decisions made. If the facts of the earlier cases were not exactly the same, the judge could still compare the situations and apply a
Read MoreUnderstanding Contracts: Indian Contract Act 1872
Section 2(h) of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 defines a contract as “An agreement enforceable by law.” Thus, the formation of a contract requires an agreement, and the agreement should be enforceable by law. According to Sir Frederick Pollock, “it is a promise or set of promises which the law will enforce.”
The agreement will create rights and obligations that may be enforced in the courts. The normal method of enforcement is an action for damages for breach of contract, though in some cases, the
Read MoreConstitutionalism: A New Legal Paradigm
The second revolution, represented by constitutionalism, stems from the positivization of fundamental rights as limits and meaningful connections to positive legislation. This results in an internal derangement of the classical positivist paradigm. The principle of formal legality is complemented by the principle of strict legality (or substantial law), which produced the separation of validity and force and the cessation a priori of the validity of existing law. This highlights the co-role of the
Read MoreUnderstanding Business Structures: Associations, Foundations, and Companies
Associations and Foundations
Associations and Foundations are non-profit legal entities with tax advantages.
- Associations: Founded on the personal element of their members.
- Foundations: Founded on the estate endowed by the founder.
Companies
- Civil: Civil purpose, governed by the Civil Code.
- Business: Commercial purpose, governed by the Commercial Code.
Undertaking/Firm
Individual entrepreneur or corporate entity, which can be civil or commercial.
- Personal:
- Collective
- Partnership
- Stock Companies:
- Limited Liability