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Courts with a focus on disputes involving business matters can be found in many countries throughout the globe, and the trend of establishing these courts is increasing. In 2007, the World Bank citied in its Doing Business report that one of the most common reforms in the legal system worldwide in 2005-2006 was the creation of specialized courts.
In the March/April edition of Business Law Today, Ralph Peeples and Hanne Nyheim presented an interesting article providing an International Perspective on Business Courts. It was noted that many countries have become interested in creating specialized courts with a business focus because of the expertise and efficiency that would result. The authors noted that "for many complex business cases, the need for expertise on the part of the judges is vital; otherwise, the result reached may seem arbitrary." Furthermore, the authors noted that specialized courts could result in better efficiency in developed countries, translating to "speedier, less expensive and more predictable resolutions of business disputes."
Ireland, The Netherlands and Tanzania are all examples of countries that maintain specialized business courts. Many other countries, including England and Wales, Peru, Pakistan and India have demonstrated a strong interest in soon establishing some form of a business court.
The authors conclude by noting that establishing a business court…will not by itself improve the quality of dispute resolution provided to business enterprises…however, a business court can lower the cost of doing business by making the dispute resolution process more predictable and efficient and thus, less costly for the parties involved. The article can be found here in its entirety.
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As early as 2000, Mexico began the codification process for business e-commerce in Mexico, which in a "civil law" country is extremely important for the establishment of rules and regulations. Amendments that had a significant impact on the Mexican business community were made to the Mexican civil code, code of civil procedure and the commercial code. As indicated by Attorney Ricardo Leon-Santacruz of the Mexican law firm Sanchez Devanni-Eseverri in a recently prepared article, these changes were insufficient, requiring additional amendments to the civil code in 2002 and the commercial code in 2003.
As part of the 2003 amendments, rules and guidelines were established for electronic signatures in contracts in Mexico. As indicated by Mr. Leon-Santacruz, there are three codified guiding principles that safeguarded electronic signatures and the digital certificates that encompass such signatures, which are: a) the electronic signature must be attributable to its author or e-signatory; b) the information contained in the electronic data which is signed must remain intact and whole; and c) the information must be accessible for future review.
Accordingly, the short answer appears to be yes! In an effort to utilize technology to advance business, Mexican law does allow for E-signatures to contracts, subject to the aforementioned guidelines.
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At this months American Bar Association Spring Meeting for the Section of Business Law in Dallas, Texas, attorney Andrea M. Johnson of the law firm Powers & Frost, L.L.P. presented an interesting article entitled "Workplace Internet and Employee Blogs." The article highlights the recent surge of blogs in the business world, and discusses whether blogs are more of a positive or negative presence in today's business world.
The word blog is said to have been born from the combination of the words 'web' and 'log' and was first recognized in the Merriam-Webster dictionary in 2005. Ms. Johnson points out that 75,000 new blogs are created daily and that 1.2 million blog postings are made each day. According to an article published by Business Week, the potential influence of blogs has been compared to the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in 1440.
Clearly, the business blog is a rising trend in which more and more people are participating in, but Ms. Johnson highlights that there are many potential positives and negatives with respect to the presence of blogs in the business world. As far as the positives are concerned, blogs are a good presence in the business world in that they offer a fast way of communication and advertising for a company. Ms. Johnson indicates that "blogs have been heralded as awesome marketing tools" and that they "foster creative thinking and allow for constructive criticism."
With respect to the potential negative effects that blogs can have on the business world, Ms. Johnson discusses that the "cons of business blogs include the potential disclosure of sensitive or embarrassing information or inappropriate comments about co-workers or subordinates."
Whether or not one thinks blogs represent a good or bad presence in our current business world, one thing seems for certain. With the popularity and awareness of blogs constantly rising, they don't appear to be going away anytime soon.
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One of the most important things to consider when establishing a new business is choosing the right form of business organization. Whether you are opening a new business or you operate a growing sole proprietorship, the lawyers at Ross Law Group are available to assist you in carefully considering and explaining the advantages and disadvantages of a particular business organization for your business.
Choosing the right business organization will affect the way assets are contributed by owners, personal liability, the management of the business and personal income tax. Limited liability partnerships, limited partnerships and limited liability companies are all structured differently, and depending on the nature and goals of a business, one may be more appropriate than another for your particular business purpose.
You can learn more about the business organization legal services a Ross Law Group attorney may be able to provide at our Incorporation and Legal Structures Center.
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The March/April edition of the ABA Section of Business Law’s Business Law Today publication had an interesting article about a recent trend in the United States over the Last 15 years for states to begin establishing “business” courts in one form or another.
As stated in Business Law Today, "during the last 15 years, various states' trial courts have incorporated specialized business and commercial tracks within their dockets." Most of these courts are located on the east coast and include business courts in some form in states such as Maine, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland.
What makes most of these business courts unique is that "they are not courts of equity focusing on corporate governance and constituency issues, instead their jurisdiction covers non-equity actions for money damages, as well as intra-corporate matters that come under tradition equity jurisdiction."
The names of these business focused courts differ from "commercial court" "business and commercial courts" or in the case of Philadelphia's business court, the "Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Commerce Case Management Program."
The one thing most of these courts have in common is that the inspiration for their existence is the over 200-year-old Delaware Court of Chancery, which as Business Law Today puts it, "sets the standard to which other courts aspire."
Should Texas attempt to establish more business specific courts? |
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