BMAL-590 Foundations of Legal
Environment of Business Exam
What is law? - Answers -Law denotes the principles and regulations established in a
community by some authority and applicable to its people, either through legislation, or
through custom, or through policies recognized and enforced by a judicial decision.
Law can also be defined as a body of rules of conduct of binding legal force that if
broken, subjects a party to criminal punishment or civil liability
Why do we need laws? - Answers -Primarily to regulate the behavior of the individual or
the business, to be aligned with what is acceptable to society as a whole.
Classification of laws - Answers -Public Law relates to the ability of society to take
action against those whose actions are considered to be against the law.
Private Law relates to the ability of individuals to initiate action against others (to sue
one another).
The legal system: - Answers -In the U.S., all law in founded in the Constitution.
Law is made at the federal, state, and local levels.
Law is made by legislatures (statutes), by court decisions (common law), and by
administrative agencies(regulations).
Laws are not static.
Old laws can be modified or repealed.
New laws can be made to address changes in society.
What is the highest law in the U.S.? - Answers -The U.S. Constitution
No local, state, or federal law can contradict the provisions of the U.S. Constitution.
The Constitution - Answers -The Constitution may be amended by the procedure
prescribed by the Constitution itself: an amendment comes into force when approved by
, two-thirds of both houses of Congress, then ratified by three-fourths of the state
legislatures.
This process has been accomplished 27 times. The first 10 amendments added
immediately after the Constitution was ratified and protects individual liberties and
rights. These first 10 together are known as The Bill of Rights.
Statutes - Answers -Laws created by legislative bodies at all levels
Enacted by federal and state legislatures, and ordinances are enacted by local
governments.
Federal laws - Answers -Applicable throughout the country
State Laws - Answers -State laws are confined to a particular state.
Local laws - Answers -Confined to the geographical jurisdiction of the authority.
Supremacy - Answers -The federal law prevails, when a state law or a local law conflicts
with a federal law
Federal Court Hierarchy - Answers -US Supreme Court
US District Courts of Appeal
US District Court (this is trial court)
State Courts Hierarchy - Answers -State Supreme Court
State Court of Appeal
How are federal laws passed? - Answers -By Congress and signed into law by the
President
How are state laws passed? - Answers -By the state legislatures and signed into law by
the Governor
What happens with a veto? - Answers -If the President or Governor rejects (vetoes) a
proposed law, the legislature may override the veto if at least two-thirds of the members
of each house of the legislature vote in favor of the law.
Treaties - Answers -The President has the power to enter into treaties with Sovereign
nations on a wide variety of issues from trade to defense. A treaty becomes a law when
approved by two-thirds of the Senate.
What do the courts do? - Answers -They interpret the law
Judicial decisions - Answers -A source of precedent both for the parties concerned and
prospectively for others in the same jurisdiction in a similar situation
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