Commercial law refers to how states regulate hiring practices, corporate contracts, manufacturing and sales of goods and services in their jurisdictions. Individual countries have different frameworks of regulating commerce depending on the level of openness in their economies. However, nations use commercial laws in order to make transactions more open and beneficial to participating parties. It thus emerges that countries that let contractual agreements survive without state intervention have impressive business environments that improve economic growth. Concurrent sections of this essay will investigate on existence and extensity of business law in four countries, including, Chile, Netherlands, New Zealand and Egypt. A conclusion analyzing points made shall follow.
Chile
Chile’s business law is scattered in different statutes, (IBP 36) which is not unusual. Many other countries have several acts that govern commercial activities, whereas others have one common body that does the same job. Acts that govern Chile’s commercial enterprises are divided into several areas of business activities. First, there are those laws that govern the hiring practices in the country. These labor laws have increasingly become important in Chile’s route to development, because they have provided employers with free hands regarding ways to hire, remunerate and terminate labor contracts with laborers. The second groups of commercials Acts are directed at protecting investors from companies, which is done be requesting the latter to consistently file records regarding performance, these acts usually target publicly traded firms. The third group of Acts is targeted at ensuring that contracts between players are respected by all. This is facilitated by another act that was used to establish commercial courts that specifically deal with business disputes. It is in these courts that enterprises and individuals in the country seek legal redress, which is done if speedy manner since no civil disputes are solved there. The lack of centralized body of business law has not affected the country’s efficiency in commercial activities.
Netherlands
Like Chile, the Netherlands does not have a unified body of commercial law governing business enterprises in the country. However, Dutch’s fragments laws have been the foundations that have facilitated smooth running of the country’s commercial sector for many centuries. Commercial law in the Netherlands is solely directed at creating greater openness in the commercial sector, (Westbroek 316) which has enabled many foreign firms to consider registering in the country. Some other segments of the Netherlands commercial law is used to facilitate competition within players in different sectors of the economy, which is a key requirement in the creation of an open economy that the country has been for many years.
The third groups of commercial laws in the country are directed at ensuring the manufacturing and sales of goods and services is done in transparent and secure manner that would not jeopardize public safety. Enterprises are therefore requested to oblige to national standards governing production processes in their respective industries, failure of which they become subject to stringent punishments. These laws are further facilitated by the competition existing between firms, which force each player to provide goods that would lead to superiority in the market, failure of which lead to being edged out of the market by fellow competitors. In addition to the cluster of laws that govern commercial activities, Netherlands uses case law ensure smooth and open constitution, running, inspection, and liquidation of legal enterprises. This leads to a situation where companies are always on their toes in ensuring compliance with business laws in the country.
New Zealand
Unlike the aforementioned Chile and the Netherlands, New Zealand has a centralized body of commercial law (Hinde 16). This body of law constitutes Acts and regulations that oversee all aspects of commercial activities in the country. As if to simplify the laws contained therein, this central body of business law is subdivided into several subsections that deal with specific issues. First, there are those laws that deal with interrelationships between companies operating in the same industry, and example being the Commerce Act (Hinde 119). The importance of Commerce act is exemplified in the efficiency that characterizes New Zealand’s competition policy. Having all commercial laws under a single body mean that policymakers do not have to change the laws separately when such need arises; all commercial laws contained therein are checked-into during reform. For instance, New Zealand is currently preparing a Business Law Reform Bill that is targeted at overhauling the existing subsections. In addition, having commercial laws under one body has enabled the country to easily compare their efficiency with those of other nations. It has also enabled New Zealand to compare compatibility of its commercial law with those of other countries, especially for integration purposes. For instance, it has been easy for New Zealand and Australia to coordinate their business laws in order to provide enterprises in both countries with easier frameworks to run businesses.
Egypt
Egypt seems to be in the process of integrating its business law under one body that would help enterprises to easily understand the country’s regulations (Amcham). However as it stands now, laws that govern the country’s commercial sector are little scattered. Other than integrating the existing laws under one umbrella, Egypt has also been busy enacting new laws targeted at making the country’s commercial sector more competitive and the economy more open to eternal competition. Among the laws that currently govern Egypt’s fledging commercial sector includes those ensuring that contracts are enforced by the relevant authorities and stakeholders especially. The second groups of laws include registration laws that intent to streamline business registration processes in the country. The third category under development are the laws on investments, which are largely directed at ensuring local and foreign investors that their capital and would be well protected in the country. The fourth category of laws under development include anti trust laws directed at ensuring that industrial participants stay away from anti competitive behavior. All the se laws being developed in Egypt are being incorporated in one body of business law that would be governing the country’s commercial sector. The increasing competitiveness of the country’s economy in the international arena is one of the reasons that authorities are busy developing competitive commercial laws.
As illustrated by couple of the aforementioned countries, nations do not need to have centralized bodies of business law in order to facilitate the smooth running of respective commercial agencies. Indeed, what is required friendly laws that would make it easy for local and international competitors to participate in production processes. In addition to establishing competitive business laws, countries should consider reforming them on a regular basis in order to keep providing entrepreneurs with friendly business environments.
References
Amcham. Egyptian Business Procedures. 2008. Amcham. Web.
Hinde, George. New Zealand Business Law, A Guide. Copenhagen: Clearing House.
International Business Publications. Business Law Hand Book for Chile. New York: IBP, 2002.
Westbroek, De Brauw. Dutch Business Law. Amsterdam: CCH, 2007.