Business and Corporate Law

Introduction to law and society

Introduction to law
• “The law consists of rules that regulate the conduct of individuals,
businesses, and other organizations within society”.
• The supreme advantage of law is peace and harmony. Law governs both
the ruler and the ruled.
• Significance of Law
• Law is to maintain rights, uphold justice and redress wrongs. Law
ensures public order, balance, harmony, peace among the persons within
the state and inter-states. The legal experts term signs the civil law as
jurisprudence. “Jurisprudence means the knowledge of law, or
knowledge of just and unjust. It deals with laws that are enforceable by
the courts”.
Cont.
• Concept of Law of the Land
• The law of the land is the whole body of valid laws, statutory or
otherwise, existing and in force in a country or jurisdiction at a
particular date.
• Justice means every man given his legal right.
• Legal justice categorize as civil justice and criminal justice. (class task)
Country and its administrative structure
• Concept of a Country and Society (including definition of a Country,
Citizens, Nation, Government and State
• Pakistan as Country and its basic Administrative Units (i.e. Mauzaa,
Union Council, Tehsil, District, Division, Province, and Country).
• Components of Government of Pakistan
• Legislature (law making)
• Executive (law enforcing)
• Judiciary (law deciding)
Cont.
• Legislature
• Federal and provincial legislature; federal bodies include president,
national assembly and senate
• ECP is responsible for election of Members of National Assembly and
senators are elected by voting of MPAs.
• President is elected by the voting of MNAs and Senators.
• Federal legislature makes federal government and provincial assemblies
make provincial government.
• President appoint Governors and they are representatives of president
in the provinces.
Cont.
• Executive
• Prime minister is the head of executive organ of the government.
• PM selects ministers from MNAs and senators.
• PM + Senators = CABINET
• Passed bill is transferred to related ministry to enforce law in related
departments/ministries.
• All the ministers and employees of departments called executives.
• Same structure is for four provincial assemblies.
Cont.
• Judiciary
• Court structure in Pakistan: Supreme Court is national level court.
• Federal Shariah Court of Pakistan
• High courts are provincial level courts. Above both are superior and upper
courts and are appellate courts.
• District and session courts. These are court of first instance in criminal
matters, district level courts and appellate courts.
• Civil and magistrate courts. These are court of first instance in civil matters
and tehsil level courts.
• High courts decide the judges of civil and magistrate courts of their province.
Special Tribunals and Boards
• Banking Courts
• Services Tribunals
• Income Tax Tribunals
• Anti-Corruption Courts , Anti-Narcotics Courts and Anti-terrorist Courts
• Labor Relations Court
• Board of Revenue
• Special Magistrate courts
• Consumer Courts - drug courts
• Railway courts, Army courts
• Federal and Provincial Mohtasib/Ombudsman (NAB).
Types of Law
• Different types/categories of Laws (Legislative Laws, Rules and
Regulations, Conventional Laws, Norms, Values, and Customs).
• Provincial Laws and Federal Laws;
• General Laws versus Special Laws; Private law and Public law;
common law and equity.
• Civil versus Criminal laws;
• Doctrine of ultra-vires (Overriding)
Cont.
• Substantive law is the part of the law that creates, defines, and
regulates the rights, duties and powers of parties.
• Procedural law or adjective law comprises the rules by which a court
hears and determines what happens in civil lawsuit, criminal or
administrative proceedings .
• Private law is the body of law dealing with private persons and their
property and relationships
• Public law is that part of law which governs relationships between
individuals and the Government, e.g. Constitutional law, Criminal law,
and Administrative law
Difference b/w Act and Ordinance
• Act is originated in national assembly
• A bill is presented in lower house of parliament and after it goes to upper
house senate for approval after passing it from national assembly
• Once bill is passed in parliament it sent to president's assent
• After getting passed by both a bill becomes ACT.
• Ordinance is passed by president of Pakistan
• in emergency cases, the government refers a proposal to the President or
Governor,
• if they approve the proposal, it becomes an Ordinance.
• Legally, an ordinance is the equal to Act. It can be seen as a temporary law till
its expiry or till it is repealed or it is approved by the legislature
Entrepreneur options
• Sole proprietors
• Partnerships
• Law and definition
• Companies/ Corporates
• Limited by Shares
• Limited by Guarantee
Financial Regulatory Institutions
• Related to Businesses in Pakistan (class task)
SECP
• Regulatory body for companies in Pakistan
• SECP Act, 1997.
• Class task
List of Laws related to Business
• Contract Act 1872, Partnership Act 1935, Companies Act 2017, Sales
of goods act 1930, Negotiable Instrument Act 1881, Carriage of Goods
Act 1925, Arbitration Act 1940, Law of Insolvency, Law of Insurance,
Banking Companies Ordinance 1962, Financial Institution ordinance
2001,
• The Transfer of Property Act 1882, Stamp Act 1899, Motor
Registration Act, Workman Compensation Act 1923, Punjab Industrial
Relations Act 2010, Social Security Ordinance 1965, Employees Old
Age Benefits Act 1976, Income Tax Ordinance 2001, Sales Tax Act
1990, Federal Excise Act, 2005.