Unit 4: Legal Issues Pages:37-41 (4) Flashcards
Laws can be classified into common law and statute law.
Laws can be classified into common law and statute law.
Common Law
Common laws refers to [law and the corresponding legal system] developed through [decisions of courts.] [Common law is law created and refined by judges.]
Laws can be classified into common law and statute law.
Statutory Law
Statutory law or statute law is [written law set down by a legislator or the government ]in response to [a perceived need], [to improve the civil service], or for an individual or company to obtain special treatment.
Applications of Laws
The key areas of applications of laws which are relevant to businesses are:
Employment law
Health and safety law
Consumer law
Law of contract
Key Areas of AOL: Employment Law
[The Employment Act states the rights and obligations as an employee.] The Employment Act does not apply to all the relationships between the employer and employees. [It prescribes certain minimum requirements regarding rest days, hours of work, holidays, sick leave, payment of retrenchment benefits and other conditions of service.]
Key Areas of AOL: Health and Safety Law A
The Workplace Safety and Health Act (WSHA) (1 March 2006) is an act issued by the Republic of Singapore.
[The purpose of this Act is to cultivate good safety habits in all individuals so as to engender a strong safety and health proactively.]
Stakeholders are required to take reasonably practical measures to ensure that the safety of health workers and other people that are affected by the work being carried out.
Key Areas of AOL: Health and Safety Law B
The WSHA stipulates that every person must take reasonably feasible [steps] to ensure the safety and health of every workplace and worker by: ABC
[Steps] to ensure the safety and health of every workplace and worker by:
a) specifying liabilities for a range of persons at the workplace.
b) focusing more on workplace safety and health goals and systems; and
c) stipulating greater penalties for compromising safety and health.
Key Areas of AOL: Consumer Law
The Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act (CPFTA) is the result of years of relentless lobbying by the Consumer Association of Singapore (CASE). The CPFTA took effect on 1 March 2004.
Consumers, who have been at the receiving end of unfair practices, will have recourse. Businesses whose earnings have suffered at the hands of their irresponsible counterparts will have satisfaction in the knowledge that the offenders will be taken to task. With the Act in effect, consumers and suppliers must know their rights and responsibilities under the law. Over time, the CPFTA will boost the retail sector, develop consumer sophistication, and contribute towards Singapore’s economic progress.
Key Areas AOL: Law of Contract
A contract is a legally binding agreement between two or more persons. For example, if you purchase any goods; if you buy a house; if you engage a builder to carry out work on your house; if you borrow money; if you order goods or machinery from manufacturer, these are all types of contracts.
The law of contracts is vital to the law that affects consumers. It is a complex area and is governed both by the “general law”, or laws which have evolved from decisions made over the years by Judges in relation to contract disputes, and “legislation” or “statutory law”, which are laws introduction by government.
The elements of a contact
The first step in contract question is to always make sure that a contract actually exists. These are certain elements that must be presented for a legally binding contact to be in place.
- AN OFFER
- An offer: an expression of willingness to contract on a specific set of terms, made by the offeror with the intention that, if the offer is accepted, they will be bound by a contract.
The elements of a contact
The first step in contract question is to always make sure that a contract actually exists. These are certain elements that must be presented for a legally binding contact to be in place.
2. Acceptance
- Acceptance: an expression of absolute and unconditional agreement to all the terms set out in the offer. It can be oral or in writing. The acceptance must exactly mirror the original offer made.
The elements of a contact
The first step in contract question is to always make sure that a contract actually exists. These are certain elements that must be presented for a legally binding contact to be in place.
3. CONSIDERATION
each party to the contract must receive something of value.
This is best illustrated by an example: suppose I promise to give you my watch, but you don’t give me anything in return. If I break my promise and keep my watch, you can’t then go to court and make me give it to you. The contract isn’t legally binding because you didn’t give me any consideration for my promise. So put simply, consideration is the price paid for the other’s promise.
The elements of a contact
The first step in contract question is to always make sure that a contract actually exists. These are certain elements that must be presented for a legally binding contact to be in place.
4. INTENTION TO CREATE LEGAL RELATIONS
If my brother offers me a lift to London, and I say I’ll contribute to the cost of the petrol and then don’t, there isn’t necessarily a binding contract that he can sue me under. If the arrangement is an informal, social one, then my offer to pay for petrol probably wasn’t made with the intention of being legally binding (see the definition of ‘offer’ above).
