ABSTRACT
This chapter describes how legal systems differ between countries and the legal concepts that are important in the international business environment. Public law, that is, the manner in which nations interact according to a legal framework, differs from private law. The legal systems of different countries are based in one of four legal traditions or foundations: civil, common, bureaucratic, and religious law. The act of state doctrine is a legal principle that refers to claims made by foreign parties whose assets or belongings have been taken by the state in public actions. Extraterritoriality refers to the application of one country's laws to activities outside its borders. Countervailing duty law is designed to provide for the imposition of tariffs to equalize prices of imports that are low because of subsidies provided by home governments to encourage trade. The Sherman Act was instituted in 1890 with the goal of preserving competition in both US domestic and export markets.
