Business Law Exam - 1

Precedent

The tendency to decide current cases based on previous rulings.

Common Law

Law derived from judicial decisions instead of statutes.

Statute

A law created by a legislature

Criminal law

Law that prohibits certain behavior for the benefit of society

Civil Law

Law that regulates the rights and duties between parties

Jurisprudence

The philosophy of law

Sovereign

The recognized political power, whom citizens obey

Plaintiff

The party who is suing

Defendant

The party being sued

Public International Law

rules and norms governing relationships among states and international organizations

Private international law

International rules and standards applying to cross-border commerce

Treaty

A binding agreement between two or more states or international organizations that establish their duties to each other

Customary international law

international rules that have become binding through a pattern of consistent, longstanding behavior

Jus Cogens

a fundamental legal principal that cannot be changed by custom or practice

Comity

The deference countries choose to give to each other’s laws and judgements

Sovereignty

A country’s absolute authority to rule its people and its territory

Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA)

A U.S. statute that provides that American courts generally cannot entertain suits against foreign governments.

Reparations

The amends states must make to one another after a breach of international law.

Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs)

Treaties that reduce trade restrictions and promote common policies among member nations

Nongovernmental Organizations (NGO)

An entity not affiliated with any government that is formed to provide services and advocacy on a range of issues

Intergovernmental Organization (IGO)

A supranational entity of states established by treaty

International Court of Jurisdiction (ICJ)

The world court settles international disputes among states

World Trade Organization (WTO)

an international organization whose mandate is to lower trade barriers

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)

The world’s largest global business organization

Islamic Law

Based on the Koran and the action and teachings of Muhammad.

Extraterritoriality

The power of one nation to impose its laws in other countries. In the US, courts presume that US law does not apply to conduct abroad unless the statute explicitly says so.

Uniform Foreign Money Judgements Recognition Act

A US act requiring some states to recognize foreign judgements under certain conditions.

CSIG

the goal of the CSIG is to make sales law more uniform and predictable and to make international contracting easier. (a sales agreement between the US and another nation could be governed by the US, the other country, or CSIG).

New York Convention

An international treaty that provides rules for the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards.

Bill

A proposed statute submitted to Congress or a state legislature

Veto

The power of the president to reject legislation passed by Congress

Subpoena

An order to appear at a particular place and time. Duces Tecum requires the person to produce certain documents or things.

Adjudicate

To hold a formal hearing about an issue then decide it.

Administrative Law judge (ALJ)

An agency employee who acts as an impartial decision-maker

Commerce Clause

The part of Article I, Section 8, that gives Congress the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations among the states.

Supremacy Clause

Makes the constitution and federal statutes and treaties the supreme law of the land

Judicial Activism

A court’s willingness to decide issues on constitutional grounds

Judicial Restraint

A court’s attitude that it should leave lawmaking to legislatures.

Commercial Speech

Communication, such as advertisements, that has the dominant theme of proposing a business tradition.

Takings Clause

A clause in the 5th amendment that ensures that when any governmental unit takes private property for public use, it must compensate the owner

Procedural due process

The doctrine that ensures that before the government takes liberty or property, the affects person has a fair chance to oppose the action

Eminent Domain

The power of the government to take private property for public use

Substantive due process

A form of due process that holds that certain rights are so fundamental that the government may not eliminate them

Equal protection Clause

A clause in the 14th amendment that generally requires the government to treat people equally.

Fundamental Rights

Rights to basic that any governmental interference with them is suspect and likely to be unconstitutional.

The united states Constitution is among the finest legal accomplishments in the history of the world. Which of the following influenced Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and the rest of the founding fathers?

I. English common-law principles

II. The Iroquois’ system of federalism

a. Only I

b. Only II

c. Both I and II

d. Neither I or II

C. Both I and II

Which of the following parts of the modern legal system are “borrowed” from medieval England?

a. Jury Trials

b. Special rules for selling land

c. Following precedent

d. All of the above

D. All of the Above

Union organizers at a hospital wanted to distribute leaflets to potential union members, but hospital rules prohibited leafleting in areas of patient care, hallways, cafeterias, and any areas open to the public. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), a government agency ruled that these restrictions violated the law and ordered the hospital to permit the activities in the cafeteria and coffee shop.

What kind of law was NLRB creating?

a. A statute

b. Common Law

c. A constitutional amendment

d. Administrative Regulation

D. Administrative Regulation

For a statute to become a law, Congress must pass it by a:

I. Majority vote in the house

II. Majority vote in the senate

III. Two thirds vote in the HOR, but only if the president has vetoed it

IV. Two thirds vote in the senate, but only if the president has vetoed it.

a. Just I & II

b. just III & IV

c. All of these

d. None of these

c. All of these

Dr. Martin Luther King jr. wrote “An unjust law is no law at all.” As such, “one has…. a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” Dr. Kings view is an example of:

a. Legal Realism

b. Jurisprudence

c. Legal positivism

d. Natural Law

D. Natural Law

For which of the following activities can a foreign sovereign be sued?

a. Operating a factory dangerously

b. Issuing a law that discriminates against a certain group

c. Suspending the civil rights of its people

d. Taxing its citizens

a. Operating a factory dangerously

Outdoor Technologies (an Australian company) obtained a judgement for $500,000 against Silver Star (a Chinese company) in a court in Australia. Silver Star owned property in Iowa, so Outdoor filed suit in Iowa to collect judgement. Which of the following statements is true:

a. Outdoor cannot collect a judgment in the US that was issued by an Australian court

b. Outdoor cannot collect in the US because Silver Star is not an American Company

c. Outdoor can collect in the US if the Australian court was fair and proper

d. Outdoor can collect in the US because both the US and Australia have common law systems.

c. Outdoor can collect in the US if the Australian court was fair and proper

The US president negotiates a defense agreement with a foreign government. To take effect, the agreement must be ratified by which of the following:

a. Two thirds of the HOR

b. Two thirds of the Senate

c. The Supreme court

d. A majority of congress

b. Two thirds of the senate

Lynn is an author living in Nevada. She contracted with a company in China which promised to translate her children's books into Mandarin. After receiving Lynn’s payment, the company disappeared without performing. Lynn wants to sue, but the contract does not say anything about which country’s law will be used to resolve disputes. Both China and the US are signatories of the CISG.

Will the CISG apply to this case?

a. Yes, because both countries are signatories

b. yes, because the parties did not explicitly opt out of the CISG

c. No, because the contract does not involve goods

d. No, because the CISG does not establish rules for fraud.

a. Yes, because both countries are signatories

Austria, Indonesia, and Columbia are all members of the WTO. If Austria imposes a tariff on imports of coffee beans from Columbia, but not from Indonesia, is it in violation of WTO principles?

a. Yes, the WTO prohibits tariffs

b. Yes, the WTO prohibits excise taxes

c. Yes, Austria is violating the WTO’s most favored nation rules.

d. No, the WTO’s most favored nation rules permit Austria to do this.

c. Yes, Austria is violating the WTO’s most favored nation rules.

A bill is vetoed by:

a. The Speaker of the House

b. A majority of the voting members of the Senate

c. The president

d. The supreme court

C. The president.

If a bill is vetoed, it may still become a law if it is approved by:

a. two-thirds of the supreme court

b. Two-thirds of registered voters

c. two-thirds of congress

d. the president

e. an independant government agency

c. Two thirds of congress

When courts interpret statutes, they ask:

a. what the words in the statute ordinarily mean

b. What congress intended the law to do

c. whether or not the law supports good public policy

d. All of the above

d. All of the Above

Under FOIA, any citizen may demand information about:

a. How an agency operates

b. How an agency spends its money

c. Files that an agency has collected on the citizen herself

d. All of the above

d. All of the above

If information requested under FOIA is not exempt, an agency has ____ days to comply with the request

a. 10 days

b. 30 days

c. 3 months

d. 6 months

a. 10 Days

Regulation of Speech

the government may regulate the time, place, and manner of speech

Freedom of speech

Is protected and includes symbolic speech by both people and organizations, unless it is intended and likely to create imminent lawless action.

Interstate Commerce

A state me not regulate commerce in any way that will interfere with interstate commerce

Greenville College, a public community college, has a policy of admitting only male students. If the policy is challenged under the Fourteenth Amendment, ________ scrutiny will be applied.

a. Strict

b. Intermediate

c. Rational

None of these

b. Intermediate

On your second day at work at Everhappy Corp., you wear a political button supporting your choice for governor in the upcoming election. Your boss glance at it and says, “Get that stupid thing out of this office or you’re fired!” On the walk home after work, you put your button back on. You pass a police officer who blocks your path and says, “Take off that button or I will arrest you.”

Which of the Following is true?

a. Only your boss violated your 1st Amendment right

b. Only the Police officer violated your 1st Amendment right

c. Both your boss and the officer violated your 1st Amendment right

d. Neither violated your 1st Amendment right

c. Both your boss and the officer violated your 1st Amendment Right

Which of the following statements accurately describes statutes that Congress and the president may create.

a. Statutes must be related to a power listed in Article I, Section 8, of the constitution.

b. Statutes must not infringe on the liberties in the BOR

c. Statutes must relate to the power listed in Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution and not infringe on the liberties in the BOR.

d. None of these

C. Statutes must relate to the power listed in Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution and not infringe on the liberties in the BOR.

Which of the following is true of the origin of judicial review:

A. it was created by Article II of the Constitution

B. It was created by Article III of the Constitution.

C. It was created in the Marbury v. Madison case.

D. It was created by the 5th Amendment

E. It was created by the 14th Amendment.

c. it was in the Marbury v. Madison case.

Which of the following violate the Free Exercise Clause of the Constitution?

I. State bans use of peyote (a hallucinogenic drug) in religious ceremonies

II. State prohibits polygamy generally, but a religious group that encourages the practice is affected.

III. State erects a monument to the Ten Commandments in a public park.

a. I

b. II

c. II

d. I & II

e. I & II

A. I: State bans use of peyote (a hallucinogenic drug) in religious ceremonies

What policies were updated and enacted by the USMCA in 2020?

1. Digital trade was regulated (promotes collaboration on cyber security

2. environmental regulations are easier to enforce

3. Workers rights are protected

4. Automobiles must be made mostly in America

   1. Rules on Intellectual property are strengthened.

What is the United nations

a supranational organization that can ensure international peace, security, encourage economic and social corporation, and protect human rights.

What does the World Bank do?

it is mandated to end poverty by encouraging development.

What is the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)?

a massive international treaty that seeks to eliminate trade barriers and bolster commerce.