International Business Law and Its Environment

The question "What is International Law?" may foster a varied array of interpreted suggestion for those not familiar with the concept. August (2004), defines International Law as the body of law that includes rules, regulations, accepted practices, and norms regulating the rights and duties of states, international organizations, and individuals beyond their legal boundaries. This means that International Law covers many aspects of a nation's daily practices such as the law of the seas, environment, human rights, labor rights, border disputes, and a host of other rules and regulations regarding the national interest among nations. There has been some gross misinformation about the organization such as the United Nations (UN) that is the hub of most of the other non-government-organizations (NGO). The UN is not an entity that has an armed military force to defend countries or invade them. The purpose of the organization as a whole is to structure the united effort of many nations to resolve conflict (not in the military sense), assist humanity, and keep the peace among other things. The organization is un-biased and operates as a neutral party in the interest of all of its member nations. International Law is the standards by which each of these nations is held to uphold as a member.

Strengths

International Law applies to obligatory relationships between nations in respect to treaties and conventions based on the members acknowledging the fundamental rules that bind them. International Law also trumps Municipal Law and International Tribunals meaning that a law that is made that violates International Law is a breach of the aforementioned agreements of nations abiding by the conventions. An example of this was the execution of Saddam Hussein. He was tried under municipal law in Iraq for violations committed with that nation with ICJ oversight. He was given counsel, granted the ability to produce witnesses in his defense. In this case municipal law did not conflict with International Law in that war-crimes have a severe penalty under both codes of law.

Another benefit that International law offers is a hierarchical structure that allows the referencing of cases based on existing treaties, and agreements along with customs between states. Also, the customs and associated practices of civility and the general principles of law offer more flexibility than that of a civil codified law for parties to resolve issues. The use of bilateral agreements between nations, arbitration, and sanctions are also benefits at the disposal of nations in respect to using international law.

Weaknesses

International Law does have some stark limitations when it comes to full uniformity under the Doctrine of Incorporation which applies international law differently according to the avoidance of conflict of municipal laws. There are certain instances when nations do not honor or acknowledge certain laws and International conventions or treaties. When this occurs, conflicts may occur between states in the forms of sanctions, disputes filed in the ICJ or through the vehicle of war.

On August 8, 2008 Russian troops were on the offensive to occupy the Southern regions of Ossetia and Abkhaz in the country of Georgia. The dispute came about because Russia failed to comply with and uphold the 1992 Treaty of the Settlement of Georgia along with the later ratification of The Cease Fire and Separation of Forces Agreement of 1994 (ICJ 2008). This breach caused Georgia to sue Russia due to these agreements and the ICJ ruled in Georgia's favor due to Russia's spotted history of violating the previous treaties. Article 22 of the convention allowed the International Court of Justice to resolve the case with reference to getting Russia to comply with its obligation. In an effort to avoid destabilizing the region and experiencing possible sanctions from other members of the international community, Russia withdrew its forces. Russia's intent was much like that of the Germans in World War II, to displace the Georgian population within the region and annex the land. Article 5 of the convention allowed the return of displaced persons to return home safely. Also the refugees were allowed to reclaim their property after the crisis and be compensated for damages and losses according to Article 2 paragraph (c) of the (CERD) agreement.

Other abuses of international law have occurred as in the case of the Columbian government's use of the International Red Cross (ICRC) emblem during armed conflict. The commercial use of the emblem in many nations may jeopardize the primary purpose to protect non-combatants and wounded in battle. The misuse of it on aircraft and personnel for military purposes are prohibited under international law. The ICRC finds it a challenge to monitor and enforce the treaty that upholds this agreement without exposing the organization, doctors and nurses as unknowing and unwilling participants of conflict. (Slim 1989)

The Impact of International Law in the Global Business Environment

International Human Rights and Labor Laws established under International Law impact the fundamental policy structure for human resource hiring practices, employee rights, and the obligations of employers to their employees regarding safety and environmental standards. Of course the level of the enforcement of these laws remains an issue in respect to nations such as China and many others. The challenge is developing domestic policies that comply with these international standards. What may be considered acceptable in Germany may be considered elaborate in Sudan or the Republic of Vietnam for instance. Nations may use sanctions as a means to show disdain or objection to these violations. Other nations may decide to dismiss companies and its subsidiaries from their shores due to human rights violations.

Businesses that are functioning within various global markets must also comply with the existing municipal laws of the city, region, territory, state, and or nation in order to operate. Some nations may skirt all of the laws in exchange for more jobs being created with the region. This means that poorer nations that have yet to develop sustainable economies may opt to turn a blind-eye to infractions pertaining to employee abuses, or disposing of environmental waste in ways that could impact the civilian population. The difficulty that many of these nations have is the imbalance in leverage to make serious demands of these larger multinational corporations. In some cases, the corporations make more profits per year than the nation has in the national treasury.

Ethical practices play a major role in how the organization will be received and treated in many parts of the world and therefore a misdeed in one nation may haunt it when attempting to expand into other markets around the world. The recent British Petroleum (BP) oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a good example. Depending on how BP manages this crisis can determine how nations in the future will view their role as a responsible global corporate partner. Legal policy decisions must include both International Law and Municipal Law to much like that of the Doctrine of Incorporation (the obligation for compliance) while retaining distinct company policies for effective and efficient operation. International Intellectual Property Law IPR) requires companies to apply security procedures to secure proprietary information and ensure compliance based on the renewal of copyright and patents within the laws and time-frames of each nation based on its requirements. International Humanitarian Law would have to shape policy in respect to protecting assets and personnel. This would mean contingency plans for evacuation policies in the event the government did not honor the fundamental rights outlined in the Geneva Convention.

by James L. Adams ©2010

James Adams is a seasoned professional with over twenty years of industry experience in the areas of Information Technology, Broadcast Media, International Business, Marketing, Public Relations, and Entertainment combined.

James has several years of personal experience as a personal match-maker and informal relationship adviser with a successful track-record. In his twenty plus years in the aforementioned fields, he has mastered the realm of social networking by engaging in topics, and subject matter after extensive research.