One of the main problems with doing business across international frontiers, particularly online business, is that of international litigation, given that it can be hard to exercise rights in a foreign jurisdiction. It is perhaps one of the biggest dangers with contracting internationally that in the event of dispute, both parties claim their law is trump, which causes some obvious problems as they struggle towards an amicable outcome. However, there are many ways around this situation for the savvy internet lawyer, including the widely used choice of law clause and the mutual arbitration or adjudication, which can help bypass this situation. In this article we will look at a practical approach to tackling online litigation, and the ways in which a party can look to resolve problems across national frontiers.
Initially, good dispute resolution begins with prevention, which means good and effective drafting of the contract. Before transacting with anyone online, it is essential that you are fully aware of their terms and conditions of service and ensure you clarify anything you’d like to see in the contract. If your proposals aren’t accepted, you’re far better to avoid transacting to avoid problems, particularly where substantial money is at stake. Alternatively, if you are drafting an agreement from scratch it is imperative that you decide mutually on the terms, particularly what is known as the choice of law clause. Choice of law refers to a particular designation in the contractual terms which stipulates that in the event of a dispute, both parties submit to an exclusive jurisdiction. This is usually to the favour of the seller’s knowledge, although may even be a neutral jurisdiction to avoid perceived bias. Provided that the choice of law is stipulated in advance, it is a particularly effective way of ensuring disputes are properly resolved to the satisfaction of both parties. Read more…
Federalism is a legal and political concept suggesting that law is best made in a twofold relationship: centrally and locally. Operative in many nations around the world under many different guises, federalism is centred on the principle that locality is key to effective governance. It holds that by making laws at a local level, the legislators can take advantage of local knowledge and opinion, whilst also lightening the load centrally for governance on the wider ranging issues. This is not only bureaucratically significant, but also politically in the sense that those in power through the majority of local areas will surely assume power overall, thus creating fairer representation. Ultimately, in theory, federalism satisfies the will of the people more accurately than a purely central system of governance, which is one of the many reasons it has become so popular in recent years. In this article, we will discuss the main advantages of federalism as a legal order, and look at the main reasons for its growing popularity and strength across the world.
The first argument put forward for a federalist legal order is that a central government is too cumbersome when it comes to legislating over region specific matters. Take the United Kingdom, for an example. The UK government in London was often required to legislate on agricultural and fisheries matters that related to issues over 1,000 miles away in the North of Scotland. In this scenario, it would be unrealistic to expect the central government to have the requisite local knowledge and understanding required to make an effective decision for the prosperity of the region. In this sense, it is argued that a federalist legal order is more desirable, on the basis of making ’small time’ decisions that affect specific localities with which it is acquainted. This has proven to be one of the strongest features of the federalist system, which largely relates to local people and their specific needs, and engages in political and legal decision making ‘closer to home’. Read more…
As several states are experiencing a fall in unemployment rates, the overall national average paints a bleaker picture, as it is starting to slowly rise, causing an array of social and economic problems for the ordinary citizen. There are more than 1.69 million Americans unemployed currently. This number is awful and means that more Americans are slowly being put on state aid and draining society of invaluable resources which could otherwise be spent on education or health provision. This strikes at the core of the budget for the states, which are spread very thin as it is across all the required public departments.
As the economy continues to be very shaky and with numerous major corporations going under due to mismanagement in recent years; there has seen a spike in the number of companies who are crashing on the stock market, meaning jobs have been lost and wages slashed. Couple this with the fact that the inflation rate is rising, the minimum wage is the same, and you are looking at a very bleak outcome for the financial future of America and its people. Something has to be changed now in order to reinvigorate our economy and our people.
Many people are able to enjoy comfortable lifestyles while many others are left with jobs that pay minimum wage, or barely over. Many Americans are busy working 40 hours plus a week and barely struggling to make enough to cover the bare essential bills. It is a tragedy the way the economy is functioning; with a great number of people getting richer, those who are financially struggling are continuing to struggle in a perpetual cycle of debt and poverty. Read more…