Ch 1 Flashcards
Weak vs. strong nations: Dependency Theory
Argues economically strong nations exploit resources
And labor of weaker nations through trade
Some nations grow and flourish at the expense of keeping
Others economically poor
Why nations are economically weak or strong, 6 general reasons?
1 dependency theory 2 natural resources 3 education and technology 4 climate 5 private market 6 law/legal system
3 Arguments against dependency theory
Strong nations invest and trade more with strong nations
Compared with weak nations
International trade usually accounts for small fraction of
income in most nations
Lack of conditions encouraging internal economic activity
Weak vs. strong nations: Natural resources 3 points
Whether or not nations have abundant natural resources
Has been offered to explain economic prosperity
Japan has few and is prosperous, Russia and African,
South American countries have many but are weak
Fairly well off resource abundant nations are well off because
They can sell to nations with strong diverse economies
Weak vs. strong nations: education and technology
Strong nations usually have more schools and implement
Technology more quickly
In some parts of the world well educated people have few
Job opportunities and powerful technologies are easily
Transferred btw countries
Widespread education and rapid technology implementation in nations seem to be…
More a result rather than the primary cause of strong
economies
Weak vs. strong nations: Climate
Geographers have thought that climate helps explain
whether nations are economically strong or weak
They believe when temperatures are too hot people are
Less able to work, especially outdoors (however Singapore
Is in hot climate)
Weak vs. strong nations: private market
Many economists feel Presence of private Market is most significant reason why some countries Are strong
Russia has a private market and is weak
Weak vs. strong nations: law/legal system
Adequately enforced system of equally applied law
Is recognized as necessary foundation for strong economies
Law secures elements of trust and certainty vital to
Economic transactions between strangers
3 concepts establish a necessary framework for the most effectively functioning market in the modern nation
1 law
2 rule of law
3 property
Law
Intended to tell members of society what they can and
Can’t do
Law is made up of rules
These rules are laid down by state and backed up
By enforcement
Rule of law
Laws made are generally and equally applicable
They apply to all or most members of society and apply
To various groups in the same way
Property AKA Ownership
Legal right that allows you to exclude others from your
Resources
It makes what is yours “yours”
3 types of ownership fences
1 public property
2 private property
3 common property
Public property
Applies to public resources owned by government
Ex. Roads, public buildings, public lands, monuments
Private property
Applies to resources you own as an individual
Common property
Applies to resources like land that more than one individual
Owns jointly
What is the central concept of western legal systems?
Property
Contract law
Enables owner to exchange resources at a future date
Tort law
Compensates owner’s whose resources are wrongfully
Harmed by actions of others
Criminal law
Punishes those who harm an owner’s resources in
particular ways
Ex. Theft
Law of business organizations
Identifies how individuals can own and use private resources
In groups
Regulatory law
Both protects ownership and sets limits on private
Resource use
Antitrust law
Forbids owners from monopolizing classes of resources
Sets rules for how businesses can compete to acquire
Ownership of new resources
Securities laws
Regulate the transfer of ownership in certain profit making
Opportunities
Environmental law
Controls how owners can. Use resources when creating
Pollution
Labor and anti-discriminatory laws
Protect empoyees’ right to exclude employers from
Interfering with certain self-ownership interests of employees
Constitutional law
Establishes the framework of the state whose purpose
Is to protect property in the broadest sense
Corporate governance
Law protecting owners of business organization from
Managers who run it
Defines legal relationship btw corporate managers/board of
Directors and shareholder owners of corporation
Jurisprudence
The philosophy of law
Natural law theory
Law contains universal moral principles observable
In nature
Can be determined through human reason
Positive law jurisprudence, what does it run contrary to?
Law is simply commands of the state backed by force
And punishments
Contrary to theory of natural law
Historical school of jurisprudence
Emphasizes contemporary law should focus on legal
Principles that have withstood test of time in a nation
Believes law reflects cultural traditions of people
And recognizes different nations have different
traditions/laws
Sociology jurisprudence
Supports idea that law can and should change to meet
New developments in society
Legal realism
Examines what police, administrators, prosecutors, and
Judges are doing to enforce, interpret and apply laws
Common law
Emphasizes role of judges in determining meaning of
Laws
Civil law
Relies more on legislation than judicial decisions for law
Civil courts do not make law
Precedents
Judicial decisions, collected and published in book volumes
Public law
Includes constitutional law, administrative law and
criminal law
Includes matters that involve regulation of society
As opposed to individuals interacting
Constitutional law
Involves interpretation and application of either federal
Or state constitutions
Administrative law
Covers legal principles that apply to government agencies,
Bureaus, boards or commissions
Private law, what three things does it traditionally include?
Covers legal issues that concern your Private resource relationships with other people
Includes: property law, contract law, tort law
Administrative law
Protects us from having others harm what is privately
Proper to people
Substantive law
Defines legal relationship of people with other people
Or btw them and the state
Rules of law governing creation or enforcement of
Contractual promise are substantive in nature
That a plaintiff must prove the defendant failed to use reasonable care in order to establish tort of negligence is an example of?
Substantive law
Procedural law
Deals with method and means by which substantive law
Is made and administered
What is the main difference btw substantive law and procedural law?
Substantive law defines rights and duties
Procedural law provides machinery for enforcing rights
And duties
US Constitution
Supreme law of the nation
Any federal or state law that conflicts with the Constitution
Is void and has no legal effect
Legislation AKA acts, statutes
Next in hierarchy of federal law after the US Constitution
Codes
Collections of legislation on the same subject
Hierarchy of law federal vs. state
All federal law prevails over state law in hierarchy of our
Sources of law
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)
Ordinances
UCC = state legislature
Ordinances = for counties and cities, lower in hierarchy of
state law
Case law
Judicial decisions that apply to your legal problem
Opinions
Written decisions on legal issues from Judges who decide appeals from trial courts
Citation
Used to locate prior precedents
Stare decisis
Doctrine of prior precedents
Follows what judges determined in prior cases
Holding? dicta?
Precisely what was necessary for a decision to be reached
In a case
Dicta- whatever else was said in the case
Constitutional relativity
In constitutional law where courts should understand the
Meaning of constitution relative to times they interpret it
Originalism
Opposite of constitutional relativity
Courts should only the Constitution according to the
intentions of those who wrote it
8 sources of hierarchy of US law from highest to lowest
1 US Constitution and Amendments 2 statutes 3 Federal administration regulation 4 state constitutions 5 state statutes 6 state administrative regulation 7 local ordinances 8 case law
Sanctions
Methods to encourage or force compliance with the law
May be used against person who fails to comply with the
Law, used as punishment for violations
Remedy
Right of individual to take another person’s resources
Because that person has failed to meet requirements
Of the law
5 sanctions for criminal conduct?
1 death 2 imprisonment 3 fine 4 removal from office 5 disqualification from holding any office or voting
Contracts
Legally enforceable agreements
Vitally important to business because allows buyers and
Sellers to exchange resources and shape agreements
In any legal way they wish
Breach of contract
When one party to contract fails to do what they agreed
Compensatory damages
Awarded to make plaintiff (victim) whole in economic sense
As if defendant hadn’t breach contract
Specific performance
Order by the court commanding other party to perform
Actual bargain as agreed
Tort
Civil wrong other than breach of contract
Involve improper crossing of boundaries (either physical
Or behavioral)
3 categories of torts
1 intentional torts
2 negligence
3 strict liability
Plaintiff
Person who initiates lawsuit
Intentional torts, examples
Require plaintiff to prove defendant intended to cross
The boundaries protecting the plaintiff
Ex. Assault, battery, trespass
Negligence
Tort requires plaintiff to show defendant injured what
Was proper to plaintiff through unreasonable behavior
Strict liability tort
Require Plaintiff to prove only defendant has injured
something proper to plaintiff
Ex. Injury caused by hazardous blasting
Punitive Damages AKA exemplary damages
Compensate plaintiffs for medical expenses, lost wages,
Earning power, damaged goods or pain and suffering
Civil punishment for intentional extremely negligent
Wrongdoing
Corporation
Business chartered by the state to do business as legal
Persons
