CIVIL LAW
In the common law, civil law refers to the area of law involving relations between private individuals as well as between people and organizations, which through incorporation, take on the legal status of individuals. Civil law, in this sense, is usually referred to in comparison to criminal law, which is that body of law involving the state against individuals (including incorporated organisations) where the state relies on the power given it by statutory law. Civil law may also be compared to military law, administrative law and constitutional (law the laws governing the political and law making process), and international law. Where there are legal options for causes of action by individuals within any of these areas of law, it is thereby civil law.
Civil law courts provide a forum for deciding disputes involving torts (such as accidents, negligence, and libel), contract disputes, the probate of wills, trusts, property disputes, administrative law, commercial law, and any other private matters that involve private parties and organisations including government departments. An action by an individual (or legal equivalent) against the attorney general is a civil matter, but when the state, being represented by the prosecutor for the attorney general, or some other agent for the state, takes action against an individual (or legal equivalent including a government department), this is public law, not civil law.
The objectives of civil law is different to other types of law. In civil law there is the attempt to right a wrong, honour an agreement, or settle a dispute. If there is a victim, they get compensation, and the person who is the cause of the wrong pays, this being a civilised form of, or legal alternative to, revenge. If it is an equity matter, there is often a pie for division and it gets allocated by a process of civil law, possibly invoking the doctrines of equity. In public law the objective is usually deterrence, and retribution. The victim, or people secondarily harmed by the wrong, do not get compensated, except with that vague notion called 'closure', and there is no pie for division.
An action in criminal law does not necessarily preclude an action in civil law in common law countries, and may provide a mechanism for compensation to the victims of crime. Such a situation occurred when OJ Simpson was ordered to pay damages for wrongful death.
CRIMINAL LAW
Criminal law (also known as penal law) is the body of statutory and common law that deals with crime and the legal punishment of criminal offenses. There are four theories of criminal justice: punishment, deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation. It is believed that imposing sanctions for the crime, society can achieve justice and a peaceable social order. This differs from civil law in that civil actions are disputes between two parties that are not of significant public concern.
Criminal law in most jurisdictions, both in the common and civil law traditions, is divided into two fields:
Criminal procedure regulates the process for addressing violations of criminal law
Substantive criminal law details the definition of, and punishments for, various crimes.
Functions of criminal law
Criminal law is intended to enforce social control by discouraging behaviour that is harmful to societal well-being, as well as behaviour that challenges the government's authority and legitimacy. Criminal law and punishments are designed to serve as a deterrent, helping to restrain behaviour . While some crimes (malum in se) are outlawed nearly universally, such as murder and rape, other crimes (malum prohibitum) reflect society's social attitudes and morality, such as laws prohibiting use of marijuana. Criminal law establishes procedure for punishing offenders, with punishment handled by the state and not the victim who might otherwise seek revenge
FOREIGN INVESTMENT LAW
The Law of Protection of Commerce and Investments from Foreign Policies that Contravene International Law (Spanish: Ley de Protección al Comercio y la Inversión de Normas Extranjeras que Contravengan el Derecho Internacional) is the law passed by the government of Mexico in response to the Helms-Burton Act, a United States federal law. The Helms-Burton Act, passed in March 1996, was designed to strengthen the United States embargo against Cuba.
The law was published on October 23, 1996 in the Official Journal of the Federation during the Ernesto Zedillo administration. In its first article, this law explicitly prohibits individuals or organizations, whether public or private, that are within the borders of Mexico from participating in any action that affects commerce or investment if those acts correspond to the application of laws of foreign countries
Sheraton Hotel incident
The first instance of a violation to this law happened almost ten years later when employees of the American-owned María Isabel Sheraton Hotel of Mexico City expelled a group of Cuban officials upon pressure from the United States government and confiscated their funds. The Cuban officials were meeting U.S. energy executives from organizations that included Valero, the United States' biggest oil refiner, the Louisiana Department of Economic Development, and the Texas port of Corpus Christi.
Voices of opposition were soon heard from the government of Mexico, the Government of Cuba, and most candidates in the 2006 presidential election. The Chamber of Deputies publicly condemned the violation of Mexican law and the rights of a group of consumers who were subjected to discrimination. On February 7, the United States Department of State declared on this matter that American law imposed upon American companies is applied regardless of the location of the company
2007-03-24 15:26:32
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answer #1
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answered by ♥!BabyDoLL!♥ 5
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