BUSINESS LAW
Chapter 1
Introduction to the Law and Our
Legal System
Objectives
Answer the question, “What is Law?”
List the major sources of our legal
system
Identify the supreme law of the land
Explain the difference between our
legal system and the legal systems of
other nations
What is Law?
Aristotle (Greek philosopher)
“a pledge that citizens of a state will do justice
to one another”
Plato (Aristotle’s teacher)
Form of social control
Cicero (Roman philosopher)
The agreement of reason and nature, the just
and unjust
What is Law?
Sir William Blackstone (British jurist)
“a rule of civil conduct prescribed by the
supreme power in a state, commanding what is
right, and prohibiting what is wrong”
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (American)
A set of rules that allowed one to predict how a
court would resolve a particular dispute
What is Law?
Law consists of enforceable rules
governing relationships among
individuals and between individuals
and their society.
Sources of American Law
Common Law
Constitutional Law
Statutory Law
Administrative Law
Common Law
Based on the English legal system
A body of general rules that prescribed
social conduct and was applied throughout
the entire English realm.
Precedent – a court decision that serves as
a guide for future decisions
Stare Decisis – “to stand on decided cases”
Common Law
Equity
Branch of unwritten law that seeks a
more equitable and adequate remedy than
damages (money).
Order a party to perform a promise
Direct a party to do or not to do an act
Common Law
Case Law
Rules of law announced in court
decisions.
Includes the cases that interpret judicial
precedents, statutes, regulations, and
constitutional provisions.
Constitutional Law
Constitutions set forth the general
organization, powers and limits of their
governments.
U. S. Constitution is the supreme law of the
land.
Unless they conflict with the U. S.
Constitution, state constitutions are supreme
within their borders.
Statutory Law
Laws enacted by a legislative body
National Conference of Commissioners
on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL,
1892)
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC,
1952)
Facilitates commerce among the states
Administrative Law
Rules, orders, and decisions of
administrative agencies
Securities and Exchange Commission
Federal Trade Commission
Environmental Protection Agency
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Review
What are the four
sources of law?
Answer
Common law
Constitutional law
Statutory law
Administrative law
Civil Law
The branch of law dealing with the
definition and enforcement of all private or
public rights.
Duties that exist either between persons or
between citizens and their governments.
Make the other party comply with a duty or
pay for damage caused by failure to
comply.
Criminal Law
Law that governs and defines those actions
that are crimes and that subject the
convicted offender to punishment imposed
by the government.
A wrong committed against the public as a
whole.
The government seeks to impose a penalty
upon an allegedly guilty person.
Civil Law System
From the Roman Empire, based on a code
rather than case law.
Judges are not bound by precedent.
Doctrine of stare decisis does not apply.
Followed in continental European countries,
Latin American, African, Asian, Japan, and
others. Louisiana has elements.
International Law
The law that governs relations among
nations.
International customs
Treaties
What happens if an international law is
violated?
Review
What is the supreme law
of the land?
Answer
United States Constitution
