International business law Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

International business law - Assignment Example In civil proceedings the wronged party has the sole discretion to pursue his rights, make a compromise or, if he so wishes, fail to bring proceedings or even discontinue proceedings in the course of the trial of a case. The case of Donoghue v Stevenson which falls under the law of torts and is part of civil law is a good illustration that civil law is meant to uphold the rights of individuals. A friend of Mrs Donoghue ordered an opaque bottle of ginger beer (intended for the consumption of Mrs Donoghue) in a cafe in Paisley. Having consumed half of it, Mrs Donoghue poured the remainder into a tumbler. The decomposing remains of a snail floated out. She claimed to have suffered from shock, fell ill with gastroenteritis and sued the manufacturer for carelessly allowing the drink to be contaminated. The House of Lords decided that the manufacturer was liable for Mrs Donoghue's illness. Criminal proceedings, on the other hand, are meant to enforce law and order in the interests of the co mmunity (Brody et al 2000), generally by punishing the offender. Proceedings are usually undertaken by the Crown, although private prosecutions are possible but very rare, and once started can be discontinued only by the Attorney-General. On the face of it, a civil offence is a wrong against an individual, whereas a criminal offence is a wrong against the community, but such a line is difficult to draw. The intention of the criminal law is to ensure that every citizen knows the boundaries of acceptable conduct in the UK, for example it is clearly unacceptable conduct to steal from another individual – thereby it is necessary to have the criminal law of theft under the Theft Act 1968. This clearly applies to other criminal offences such as murder and rape. The wrong is against the society. A breach of the criminal laws imposed by society will be seen as a wrong against society as a whole. Therefore if the boundaries of acceptable conduct in the UK have been exceeded by an indi vidual and that individual has been caught they will face prosecution by the state and will receive appropriate punishment such as a fine, imprisonment or a community sentence. References Brody, David C.; Acker, James R.; Logan, Wayne A. (2000). "Introduction to the Study of Criminal Law". Criminal Law. Jones & Bartlett Publishers. ISBNÂ  0-8342-1083-5 Donoghue v Stevenson ([1932] A.C. 532, 1932 S.C. (H.L.) 31, [1932] All ER Rep 1 Evaluate the role of common law and legislation within the English Legal System Common law Common law is based largely on judge-made law (law developed through decisions by judges necessary to decide cases brought before them or case-law) The development of case-law still remains an important source of law. A statement of law made by a judge in a case can become binding on later judges and can in this way become the law for everyone to follow. Whether or not a particular pronouncement (technically called a precedent) by a judge sitting in court when decid ing a case does become binding (according to the doctrine of "stare decisis" - stand by what has previously been decided) on later judges depends on two main factors: The pronouncement must be made by a court of sufficient seniority. Basically, judges at the lowest tiers of decision making (often called courts of first instance), are not allowed to issue binding precedents. The pronouncement