will not pass legal judgement on public acts committed by a recognized government if those acts occur within
that government’s own territory (Cross & Miller, 2018, p. 216). For example, the United States will not file a
lawsuit against Petrobras, a Brazilian oil company, alleging price fixing, since the act of pricing oil occurs in
Brazil, which is a nation that holds control over its own natural resources.
The Doctrine of Sovereign Immunity, which was introduced in the previous section, states that foreign
nations are immune from U.S. jurisdiction when certain circumstances are applied. However, there are
exceptions to this law. If a foreign country conducts commercial business activity in the United States and an
entity in the United States files a lawsuit against the foreign business, then the foreign state is not immune
from U.S. jurisdiction (Cross & Miller, 2018, p. 216).
International Law Enforcement
One of the most important considerations for international business is understanding that companies
operating in foreign nations are subject to the laws of those nations (Cross & Miller, 2018, p. 212). When
international laws are violated, disputes are often resolved through the legal systems within individual nations.
Most countries have either common law or civil law systems. Common law systems operate independently by
developing their own rules that govern areas of business law, such as torts and contracts. The United States
has a common law system. One-third of all people in the world live in nations in which common law is
practiced. Civil law systems base their legislation on Roman civil law, which utilizes statutory codes as the
primary source of law (p. 212).
Common Law
Civil Law
Australia
Malaysia
Argentina
Indonesia
Bangladesh
New Zealand
Austria
Iran
Canada
Nigeria
Brazil
Italy
Ghana
Singapore
Chile
Japan
India
United Kingdom
China
Mexico
Israel
United States
Egypt
Poland
Jamaica
Zambia
Finland
South Korea
Kenya
France
Sweden
Germany
Tunisia
Greece
Venezuela
Table 13.1
Impact on International Trade
There are three international law enforcement methods that can radically impact trade: collective action,
Chapter 13 International Law
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