Addressing International Legal and Ethical Issues Simulation Summary

Addressing International Legal and Ethical Issues Simulation Summary

In 1998, an American oil company obtained the rights for oil exploration and extraction I parts of Costa Rica. They spent more than 10 million dollars on preliminary exploration, but environmental groups protested enough to get the Costa Rican government to cancel the contract in May 2002. They cited 50 reasons about why environmental laws were being violated. Subsequently, the oil company filed a lawsuit for 57 billion dollars, which was considered ludicrous because the entire GDP for Costa Rica was only 17 billion. The oil company eventually withdrew its claim and the Costa Rican government is still looking for ways to compensate them for their losses.

Some issues a company may encounter during international business transactions could range from are the contract legally enforceable according to these foreign countries laws? Were all the issues concerning legal, ethical, or cultural issues addressed in the contract before signing?

When taking legal action against a foreign partner we must consider that international law unlike most other areas of law, has no defined area or governing body, but instead refers to the many and varied laws, rules and customs which govern, impact and deal with the legal interactions between different nations, their governments, businesses and organizations, to include their rights and responsibilities in these dealings ("Hg.org Global Legal Resources", 1995-2012).There are both national laws and international agreements that govern/regulate international business transactions, which include investments, offshore banking, contracts, imports/exports, tariffs, dumping, trade and more. Although there is no definitive governing body overseeing international law, the United Nations is the most widely recognized and influential international organization and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is its judicial counterpart ("Hg.org Global Legal Resources", 1995-2012).

. There are factors that could work against CadMex's decision to grant sub-licensing agreements. First, the employees hired would be foreign, and as such would view the business from the view point of their own culture. The culture of the country within which an American business opens is a factor that cannot be overlooked. Some factors to think about would be compensation, how each economy will differ and have different needs, the level of importance concerning family changes from country to country, dictating how many hours a family member should work a week, how health care is interpreted or even available, and whether women's and children's rights regarding work will pose challenges (especially in China where child labor is acceptable), how etiquette differs, work habits differ, taxes differ, and which choice of law is paramount when there is a dispute (Library Of Congress: Children's