CHAPTER 8: INTERNATIONAL LAW IN A GLOBAL ECONOMY

CHAPTER 8: INTERNATIONAL LAW IN A GLOBAL ECONOMY

SOURCES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

Three Sources of International Law:

International Customs.Treaties and International Agreements. International Organizations.

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Companies Doing Business in Foreign Nations are subject to the laws of those nations.

Common Law Systems: courts independently develop rules by stare decisis for certain areas of law, not covered by statutory law.

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COMMON LAW AND CIVIL LAW SYSTEMS

Companies Doing Bn in Foreign Nations

Civil Law Systems: Most of Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America based on Roman civil law or “code law.”

Primary source of law is statutory code or written laws. Courts interpret the law

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The most important principles and doctrines applied in the interest of maintaining harmonious relations among nations:

Principle of Comity. Act of State Doctrine. Doctrine of Sovereign Immunity.

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COMITY:

Country A will defer and recognize the laws and judicial decisions of Country B, as long as those laws and judicial decisions are consistent with the laws and public policy of Country A.

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Judicial branch of one country will not examine the validity of law by foreign government within its own territory.

THE ACT OF STATE DOCTRINE

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Exempts foreign nations from jurisdiction in U.S. courts.

If a Foreign State waives immunity, then the foreign state is not immune from U.S. jurisdiction

THE DOCTRINE OF SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY

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FOREIGN SOVEREIGN IMMUNITIES ACT

The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) of 1976 is a United States law, that establishes the limitations as to whether a foreign sovereign nation/individual may be sued in U.S. courts—federal or state

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A foreign country is not immune from the jurisdiction of U.S. courts if—

1. The state has waived its immunity.

2. The action is based on a commercial activity carried on in the United States by the foreign country.

3. The state has committed a tort in the United States or violated certain international laws.

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SAMANTAR V. YOUSEF

This case was decided by the United States Supreme Court concerning whether Muhammad Ali Samatar, prime minister of Somalia under dictator Siad Barre from 1987 to 1990, could be sued in United States courts for allegedly overseeing killings and other atrocities.

Samatar now lives in Virginia, and some of his victims had sued him under the Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991. 11

Court - immunity for “official acts” cannot extend to torture, extrajudicial killing, or any other universally recognized human rights violation because no foreign official has the authority to commit these international crimes.

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On August 28, 2012, U.S. District Court awarded $21 million in compensatory and punitive damages against Samantar.

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US SUPREME COURT

On June 1, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court decided unanimously that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), which governs the immunity of foreign states in U.S. Courts, does not apply in lawsuits against foreign officials.

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BUSINESS ETHICS ON A GLOBAL LEVEL

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.Bribes and Accounting Practices.Chapter 4

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Antidiscrimination Laws.Civil Rights Act of 1991 applies Title VII extraterritorially to all U.S. employees working for U.S. employers abroad

U.S. LAWS IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT

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