Business Law Asignment 1

Q 1) Explain clearly what do you mean by Policy, guidelines, Rules, Regulations, Acts, Natural
Laws, Man made Laws?

Ans. The following is the explanation for all of the above:

1) Policy: A policy is typically described as a deliberate plan of action to guide decisions and
achieve rational outcome(s). The term is not normally used to denote what is actually done,
this is normally referred to as either procedure or protocol. Where as a policy will contain
the 'what and the why' procedures or protocols contain the 'what' the 'how' the 'where' and
the 'when'. Policy documents often come with the endorsement or signature of the
executive powers within an organization to legitimize the policy and demonstrate that it is
considered in force. Such documents often have standard formats that are particular to the
organization issuing the policy.

2) Guidelines: A guideline is any document that aims to streamline particular processes

according to a set routine. By definition, following a guideline is never mandatory (protocol
would be a better term for a mandatory procedure). Guidelines are an essential part of the
larger process of governance. Guidelines may be issued by and used by any organization
(governmental or private) to make the actions of its employees or divisions more
predictable, and presumably of higher quality.

3) Rules: A rule is a set of instructions which is supposed to be followed while doing any
activity. They cannot be broken and if broken the person breaking the rule may be subject
to a punishment. For Eg: A law may be informally called a "rule".

4) Regulations: Regulation is "controlling human or societal behavior by rules or restrictions.

Regulation can take many forms: legal restrictions promulgated by a government authority,
self-regulation by an industry such as through a trade association, social regulation (e.g.
norms), co-regulation and market regulation. One can consider regulation as actions of
conduct imposing sanctions (such as a fine). This action of administrative law, or
implementing regulatory law, may be contrasted with statutory or case law.

5) Acts: An act is an instrument that records a fact or something that has been said, done, or
agreed. Acts generally take the form of legal instruments of writing that have probative
value and executary force. They are usually accepted as self-authenticating demonstrative
evidence in court proceedings, though with the precarious status of notaries public and their
acts under common law, this is not always so. For Eg: There are Legislative Acts, Notarial
Acts, etc.

6) Natural Laws: Natural law or the law of nature is a theory that posits the existence of a law
whose content is set by nature and that therefore has validity everywhere. The phrase
natural law is opposed to the positive law (which is man-made) of a given political
community, society, or nation-state, and thus can function as a standard by which to criticize
 that law. In natural law jurisprudence, on the other hand, the content of positive law cannot
be known without some reference to the natural law (or something like it). Used in this way,
natural law can be invoked to criticize decisions about the statutes, but less so to criticize the
law itself. Some use natural law synonymously with natural justice or natural right, although
most contemporary political and legal theorists separate the two. For Eg: There are Stoic
Natural Law, Christian Natural Law, Islamic Natural Law, etc.

7) Man Made Laws: Man Made Laws are also called Positive Laws that are made by human
beings, that is, "Law actually and specifically enacted or adopted by proper authority for the
government of an organized jural society.

Q 2) What do you mean by Business Law?

Ans. Commercial law (sometimes known as business law) is the body of law that governs business
and commercial transactions. It is often considered to be a branch of civil law and deals with issues
of both private law and public law.

Commercial law includes within its compass such titles as principal and agent; carriage by land and
sea; merchant shipping; guarantee; marine, fire, life, and accident insurance; bills of exchange and
partnership. It can also be understood to regulate corporate contracts, hiring practices, and the
manufacture and sales of consumer goods. Many countries have adopted civil codes that contain
comprehensive statements of their commercial law. In the United States, commercial law is the
province of both the United States Congress, under its power to regulate interstate commerce, and
the states, under their police power. Efforts have been made to create a unified body of commercial
law in the United States; the most successful of these attempts has resulted in the general adoption
of the Uniform Commercial Code.

For E.g.: Various regulatory schemes control how commerce is conducted. Privacy laws, safety laws
(e.g., the Occupational Safety and Health Act in the United States), and food and drug laws are some
examples.

Q 3) Are Business Laws same for every country? Explain why they are same/different?

Ans. Business Laws are not the same for all the countries.

Reason: As in India legal system is based on English common law; judicial review of
legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; separate personal law
codes apply to Christians, Hindus, and Muslims.

In USA legal system is federal court system based on English common law; each state has its
own unique legal system of which all but one (Louisiana, which is still influenced by the
Napoleonic Code) is based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts; has not
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction.
 The above two examples show that the Business Laws are not similar in all the countries.
Q 4) From the internet find out when was the first Business Law enacted and why?

Ans. Ancient Egyptian law, dating as far back as 3000 BC, had a civil code that was probably
broken into twelve books. It was based on the concept of Ma'at, characterised by tradition,
rhetorical speech, social equality and impartiality. By the 22nd century BC, Ur-Nammu, an ancient
Sumerian ruler, formulated the first law code, consisting of casuistic statements ("if... then...").

Around 1760 BC, King Hammurabi further developed Babylonian law, by codifying and inscribing it in
stone. Hammurabi placed several copies of his law code throughout the kingdom of Babylon as
stelae, for the entire public to see; this became known as the Codex Hammurabi.

The Torah from the Old Testament is probably the oldest body of law still relevant for modern legal
systems, dating back to 1280 BC. It takes the form of moral imperatives, like the Ten
Commandments and the Noahide Laws, as recommendations for a good society. Ancient Athens, the
small Greek city-state, was the first society based on broad inclusion of the citizenry, excluding
women and the slave class.

Q 5) Why MBAs should know Business Law?

Ans. The MBA should have an adequate knowledge of the Business Laws which is mainly
prevalent in the country where he is working. This knowledge would help him to understand better
the various business norms and conduct the work ethically and legally.

It will be also beneficial to know the rights and duties and the extent to which an employee,
management or the organization can work. Knowledge of Business Law will help the MBA to take
better decisions and actions which will benefit the organization as a whole.