Introduction
Companies that pursue business opportunities in other countries often find themselves in social, political, economic, cultural, and legal environments governed by unfamiliar policies, laws, and regulations. Business owners need to understand that as they become a part of the global supply chains, they may need to resolve international commercial disputes. The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze differences in international legal policies, standards, and procedures as they relate to resolution of conflicts in global business. The 1972 case, M/S Bremen v. Zapata Off-Shore Co. 407 U.S. 1 will be used to review laws such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions (OECD Convention), and United Nations Convention against Corruption (UN Convention).
M/S Bremen v. Zapata Off-Shore Co. 407 U.S. 1 (1972)
Historically, American courts have held that private individuals have “no power to alter the rules of judicial jurisdiction” (Richie, 2011, p. 97). Consequently, parties were denied legitimate expectations of a freely negotiated private agreement. This practice end when the United States Supreme Court noted in its landmark decision on forum selection clause enforceability, in M/S Bremen v. Zapata Off-Shore Co. 407 U.S. 1 (1972), that agreeing in advance on a forum acceptable to both parties is an indispensable element in international trade, commerce, and contracting.
Essential Facts of the Case
The Plaintiff, Unterweser, sought a stay of action on the suit filed in U.S. District Court by Zapata, a Houston based corporation, pending resolution in the London Court of Justice. Zapata had contracted Unterweser,...
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...e U.S. FCPA. United Nations has the UN Conventions attempts to incorporate a human right dimension, making it more accepting of individual country laws than the U.S. and Britain individually. Companies choosing to pursue business opportunities in the Middle East must understand the limitations of shariah law as regards property rights and gender inequality (Ahmed, 2008 & Ibrahim, 2008). China is making considerable changes in the area of property rights to attract direct foreign investments (FDI) and promote international trade (Scott, 2008 & Zhang, 2008).
It is in the best interest of a company wishing to conduct business in another country to understand the cultural and religious influence on the legal environment and the nature of contractual agreements that are honored. Failing to understand the dynamics in the legal environment can have costly consequences.
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World-Wide Volkswagen and Seaway demonstrate that there are limits to the exercise of personal jurisdiction over non-resident defendants. The decision recognizes that companies manufacture goods movable in interstate commerce and that any particular good can settle in diverse physical locations. Although the manufacturer knows that the product is movable, such as a car, that awareness alone is inadequate to provide a basis for the exercise of personal jurisdiction by a remote foreign court; thus they cannot be sued in that state.
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The next section will illustrate the way in which separate commerce businesses function in the international legal atmosphere and to recognize any of the domestic and worldwide matters, which affect the assorted industry configuration and how those concerns can be successfully handled. Lastly, the paper will contain information about Sport Bar Franchise documents that are needed to initiate the business in the state of Maryland.
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Although ADR is an appealing alternative to litigation today, throughout the early history of the United States, courts expressed much hostility toward the idea of enforcing an agreement through any alternative dispute resolution. Throughout the 1900’s, United States courts were reluctant to enforce any agreement to arbitrate an existing or future dispute unless a specific statute...
Advantages and Disadvantages of Alternative Dispute Resolution. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) involves dispute resolution processes and techniques that fall outside of the government judicial process. There has been moves against ADR in the past by entities of many political parties and their associates, despite this, ADR has gained inclusive acceptance among both the broad community and the legal profession in past years. In fact, many courts now entail parties to remedy to ADR of some type, usually mediation, before allowing the parties' cases to be tried. The increasing attractiveness of ADR can be clarified by the increasing caseload of traditional courts, the perception that ADR imposes fewer costs than litigation, a preference for confidentiality, and the desire of some parties to obtain larger control over the selection of the individual or individuals who will decide their dispute.
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The Lotus case garners attention due to the fact that it was among the first cases dealing with whether jurisdiction was assumed in accordance with principles of international law. While the Lotus case was heard in the context of criminal jurisdiction over a collision in the high seas, the Lotus principle has been applied in a variety of other cases in varying contexts. For this reason, the judgment of the Permanent Court of International Justice is critiqued for specifically answering only the question in the special agreement as the continued application of the Lotus Principle as a general principle in other contexts such as anti-trust regulations may lead to ambiguous results.
Since the end of World War II, international operations have become a reality for an increasing number of corporations. Many of these initial efforts began as simple export schemes to sell goods overseas to supplement domestic sales. Over time, however, international operations have become increasingly more complex: from joint-ventures to purchasing existing foreign firms to ‘green-field’ start-ups. While export operations usually require no more than extended business trips overseas, more complex international operations demand long-term assignments of key personnel outside their home-country. What would normally be considered routine business transactions in the home country can become very complicated when they are conducted between individuals and organizations from different cultures. In this essay we will examine how this cultural gap can affect international business and joint ventures.