1- What are the economic, political and legal risks of your home country for international

business and trade? What are your proposed solutions

- Political :

Morocco is a politically stable country. It is a constitutional monarchy, led by King Mohamed

VI who came to the throne in 1999. There are two legislative bodies, the Lower House,
which is directly elected, and the Upper House, elected through a college of electors. In
2011 as the ‘Arab Spring’ reverberated across much of the region, Morocco experienced
some protests but these were relatively small-scale compared to other affected countries.

Solution: the King of Morocco adopted a more progressive constitution and proceeded to
the election of a new Government the same year. A comprehensive reform agenda is being
implemented.

- Economic :

A few years ago, Morocco was low ranked in the world’s economic ranking, so this affected
the foreign direct investment in the country. What shows that they were not taking
advantage of their interesting geographical position (gateway between Europe and Africa).
However, nowadays, Morocco has moved up 19 places in the world economic Ranking and
are taking the 69th position worldwide.

Solutions: the simplification and standardization of 30 administrative procedures, reforming

the SME and investment charters and setting up one stop shops for investors.

- Legal :

Investors are advised to spend time investigating the market, obtain professional advice
where appropriate and thoroughly investigate the issues in entering the market and before
establishing business relationships. These firms wishing to operate in Morocco should
commit to the highest level of corporate behaviour and familiarise themselves with the laws
and penalties pertaining to bribery of foreign officials. Bribery of foreign public officials is a
crime. Individuals and companies can be prosecuted for bribing foreign officials when
overseas.

Solutions : The investors can always keep updated for further information on frauds, scams,
personal and asset security, intellectual property protection and other business risks in case
of any legal modifications.
 2- Give an example of international Business customs and usages and discuss how it
differs from an international treaty

A good example of international Business customs and usages is the international rules for
the interpretation of trade term (Incoterms).

So now let’s show the difference between international business customs and usages and
an international treaty, let’s take compare Incoterms and GATT.

Incoterms provides rules for determining the obligations of both seller and buyer when
goods are to be carried from one location to another as part of the sale transaction, they
state what acts seller must do to deliver, what acts buyer must do to accommodate
delivery, what cost each party must bear, and at what point in the delivery process the risk
of loss passes from seller to buyer.

On the other hand, some treaties purposes like International Convention for the Unification
of Certain Rules of Law relating to Bills of Lading (The Hague Rules) are to liberalize trade
between the contracting states. They can also at unification of law. They introduce common
substantive rules for regulating the transactions between individuals and companies in
some fields of international business (For example: International transportation or
international sale of goods).

3- Give an example of international treaty and describe it main contents.

An example of international treaty is The united nations convention on contracts for the
international sale of goods (CISG 1980).

The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG 1980) is a
treaty that is a uniform international sales law. It has been ratified by 89 states that account for
a significant proportion of world trade, making it one of the most successful international
uniform laws. The CISG allows exporters to avoid choice of law issues, as the CISG offers
"accepted substantive rules on which contracting parties, courts, and arbitrators may rely".
Unless excluded by the express terms of a contract, the CISG is deemed to be incorporated into
(and supplant) any otherwise applicable domestic law with respect to a transaction in goods
between parties from different Contracting States.
 4- Give an example of the international model law and discuss the use of it for
international business.

The example I’ve chosen for international model law is UNICTRAL model law on international
commercial arbitration. Its main task is the harmonization and the unification of legal rules in
the field of international business by promoting the use and adoption of legislative and non-
legislative instruments in a number of key areas of commercial law. Those areas include sale of
goods, dispute resolution, international contract practices, transport, and international
payments among others. It is also useful in the International business domain because the
principles of international commercial contracts states that ‘’ these principles set forth general
rules for international commercial contracts. Therefore, they shall be applied when the parties
have agreed that their contract be governed by them’’. And according to Article 1 (1) of the
UNICTRAL model law on international commercial arbitration provides “this law applies to
international commercial arbitration, subject to any agreement in force between this state or
any other states or state”.

5- What are the differences and similarities between civil law and common law systems?
What’s judges role in civil law and common law system?

Comparison between civil and common law: First of all, before comparing those two legal
systems, let me to give the definitions of civil and common law.

“Civil law is a legal system inspired by Roman law, the primary feature of which is that laws are
written into a collection, codified, and not determined, as in common law, by judges". Civil law
is the most prevalent and oldest surviving legal system in the world. Civil law system mainly
derives from the Roman Empire. Initially, substantive and procedural rules are thoroughly
discussed in the civil law and the law itself has a long, complicated history. The principle of civil
law is to support all citizens with an accessible and comprehensively written collection of laws
which apply to them and which judges must abide by.

Common law that is, the body of law that develops over time through the decisions of judges
deciding outcomes on a case by case basis, rather than from statutes or constitutions “In
current days, the common law is often and widely defined as judge-made law, and the primary
roots of the common law system reflect a body of essentially local customary practices and
usages which are applied by judges rather than necessarily ‘made’ by them. In common law
system, the law is, thus, found not only in government statutes, but also in the historical
records of cases. One of another very indispensable feature of the common law tradition is
equity.

Bebe ask the teacher whether you define or not ?

Concerning the similarities, both systems rely on written law as a primary source of law, and
the courts in both systems issue judicial decisions. For the differences, the legal codes in civil
law countries are more comprehensive than the statues in common law countries. And finally,
the lawyers in civil law systems are more trained in the interpretation of codes while common
law lawyers are more skilled in researching cases.

The role of judges is also different: In criminal cases, civil law judges take a more inquisitorial
role in an investigative search for the truth. The process is less adversarial in common law
countries. In other cases such as contract or tort cases, civil law judges can undertake their own
investigation of the facts and decide what witnesses a called. On the other hand, In common
law countries, the judge is an arbiter between opposing counsels ruling on what evidence is
admissible, and maintaining a fair trial.

6- Under CISG what are the criteria for the CISG to be applied? (key points – 3
requirements for the CISG to be applied)

CISG is applicable when these three conditions are met, 1st the contract is for the sale of goods,
2nd the contract is between parties whose places of business are in different countries, 3 rd the
places of business are located in countries that have ratified CISG.

7- What are the major obligations (duties) for the buyer and seller under CISG?

Buyer’s obligation: Articles 53-60 of the CISG deal with the buyer’s obligations. More
specifically, they deal with the buyer’s principal obligations, namely the duty to pay for the
goods and the duty to take delivery of the goods. While these two requirements form the core
of the buyer’s obligations under a contract, it must be remembered that the buyer is also
subject to two separate duties in the sales transaction, namely to examine the goods and to
notify the seller of nonconformities.

Seller’s obligation: The obligations of the seller can be divided into three categories. First the
delivery of the goods imposes obligations which are dealt with in Articles 30 to 34. The second
obligation of the seller is to deliver conforming goods. Articles 35 to 44 govern this issue
together with third-party claims. The final section (Articles 45-52) discusses the remedies
available to the aggrieved buyer in cases of a breach of contract.
 8- What are the rules for passing risk of loss under CISG?

When goods are accidentally lost or damaged between conclusion and fulfillment of the
contract, it must be decided who is going to have to bear this loss: the seller or the buyer. The
rules on the passing of risk determine the moment in which the risk passes: the moment from
which the buyer has to pay the price, although he does not receive the goods, or at least not
undamaged. Article 66, first part, says:

"Loss or damage to the goods after the risk has passed to the buyer does not discharge him
from his obligation to pay the price."

Articles 66-70 CISG only determine, according to current opinion, the risk of having to pay the
price, which the buyer has to bear after the passing of the risk.

When art. 66 CISG mentions "loss of or damage to the goods", it means such incidents, which
are not caused by one of the parties to the contract or by persons for whom they are
responsible, but incidents which are caused by independent third parties or incidents which are
not caused by human persons. It must happen accidentally from the point of view of the
contracting parties, in other words, it must be casual loss or damage. This comprises factual
losses as well, such as theft, vandalism, accidents, unloading in emergencies and other physical
impairments.

9- What does “Force Majeure” means under CISG? What the results will be if force
majeure happens?

Under CISG, “Force Majeure” is providing the discharge of one or both parties when a contract
has become impossible to perform "has evolved progressively in international trade practice by
assuming many original and autonomous features distinct from similar legal concepts." The
approach of municipal legal systems to situations of force majeure varies from country to
country. Despite these circumstances, certain general characteristics of the conception of force
majeure can be determined.

So the results if Force Majeure happens According to the judgment, is that it could cover the
dislocation of a business due to a universal coal strike or accidents to machinery, but would not
cover bad weather, football matches, or a funeral. In more general terms, it can be said that
force majeure occurs when the performance of a contract is impossible due to unforeseeable
events beyond the control of the parties. The following is a possible definition of force majeure
Force majeure occurs when the law recognizes that without default of either party a
contractual obligation has become incapable of being performed because the circumstances in
which the performance is called for would render it impossible. I promised to do this but I
cannot due to some irresistible unforeseeable and uncontrollable event.
 10- What’s the duty of “mitigation of loss” mean? Who will take such an obligation ?

Whenever a party suffers some form of injury or loss, whether by breach of duty or breach of
contract, it has an obligation not to make matters worse. This is known as the duty to mitigate
loss.

The duty to mitigate loss means that a claimant must ensure that it minimizes the loss it has
suffered by taking reasonable steps to ensure that, where possible, the loss does not increase,
and to not take unreasonable steps which may increase the loss.

This duty is not “enforceable” by anyone, rather it is a voluntary duty, but if a claimant fails to
take steps to mitigate its loss, the damages it recovers will be affected by that failure, i.e. the
court may award a sum that takes into account steps which could have been taken to mitigate
loss, but which have not been taken, and the claimant may be prevented from recovering loss
which it could reasonably have prevented incurring.

11- Under Hague rules, the carrier takes on the “seaworthy duty”, What does it mean ?

Under Hagues rules, a vessel is seaworthy if it is reasonably fit to carry the cargo it has
undertaken to carry on the intended voyage. The standard of seaworthiness includes a number
of factors: the type of ship, the condition, and suitability of the sip’s equipment, the
competences of its crew, the type of cargo being carried and the manner in which it is stowed,
the weather that is was the ship prepared for the types of weather expected? And the nature of
the voyage, the carrier must also properly load store and carry the goods.

12- What’s the air carrier’s liability for the death and bodily injury for passengers under
Montreal convention 1999?

An airline is liable for death or injury to passenger ticked for international travel, including a
passenger who is injured or killed in an accident in his own country, provided that his ticket
included travel to or from another country. For death of bodily injuries of passengers the
Montreal Convention 1999 provides a unique two-layer Scheme: the carrier is strictly liable
for damages not exceeding 100 000 SDR, and the carrier is liable for the damages above 100
000 SDR unless it can show either: 1st the damages were not due to the negligence or other
wrongful act or omission of the carrier or its servants or agents. 2nd The damages was solely
due to the negligence or wrongful act or omission of third parties.
 13- What are the four major types of intellectual property rights (IP)? When will these
rights begin to be protected? For how long ?

The four major types of intellectual property rights (IP) are:

1st Copyrights: protect the authorship of any work that can be fixed in a tangible medium for
the purpose of communication such as literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works, films…

Duration of copyrights: TRIPS sets the minimum time period of the life of author plus 50 years.

2nd Patents: Is a statutory privilege granted by the government to investors and to others
deriving their rights from the inventor, for a fixed period of years, to exclude other persons
from manufacturing, using or selling a patented product or from utilizing a patented method or
process.

Duration of patents: The TRIPS Agreement sets the minimum duration of patents at 20 years.

3rd Trademarks: Are used by merchants and others to identify themselves and their products
from similar goods or services supplied by others. A trademark in common sense is any word,
name, symbol or device or any combination adopted and used y a manufacturer or merchant to
identify his goods and distinguish them from those manufactured or sold by others.

Duration of Trademarks: The TRIPS agreement requires that members of the WTO protect
trademarks for terms of at least 7 years, also it provides for trademarks to be renewable
indefinitely.

4th Trade secrets: Are confidential information that has commercial value and the owner has
taken reasonable measures to protect. Unlike patterns, copyrights, and trademarks, trade
secrets are protected by contract, tort and trade secrecy a laws.

Duration of Trade secrets: Because protection of trade secrets can, in principle, extends
indefinitely, it therefore may provide an advantage over patent protection and other registered
intellectual property rights, which last only for a specific duration. The Coca-Cola Company, for
example, has no patent for the formula of Coca-Cola and has been effective in protecting it for
many more years than the 20 years of protection that a patent would have provided. In fact,
Coca-Cola refused to reveal its trade secret under at least two judges' orders.
CASE STUDY :
Case 1: An Austrian buyer and a Chinese seller made a contract for the ourchase from S of
scaffold fittings. The buyer conducted part of the negotiations in China, where the seller was
located, and the buyer’s liaison office in China has been involved in the negotiating process.

Solution: According to CISG Article 1, the convention is applicable if the following three
conditions are met: 1- The contract is for the sale of goods, 2- The contract is between parties
whose places of business are in different countries, 3- the places of business are located in
countries that have ratified CISG.

So in our case, the CISG will apply, because in fact, negotiations in the same country did not bar
the application of Article 1, because the two parties had their places of business in two
different contracting states. Furthermore, both China and Austria are countries that have
ratified CISG. And finally, this contract between The Austrian buyer and the Chinese seller if for
sale of goods, where the buyer is interested in buying scaffold fittings.

Case 2: Fort fabricators, Paris France entered into a contract with ABS Computer INC, is Texas
U.S.A. The contract provides that Fort Fabricators deliver 1000 personal housings by November
1 to ABS Computer INC, for a total price of 50000 USD. On July 1 Fort fabricators emailed ABS
computer that due to a rise in raw material they could not deliver the computer housings for
less than 60000 USD, ABS computer Inc. replied it would insist on the original price in the
contract. Fort fabricators did not reply further. From July 1 to October 1, ABS Computer Inc.
could have purchased the substitute housings from other suppliers for 55000 USD. On
November 1, ABS computer INC, bought the housings for 64000 for delivery on January 5,
because of the delay until January 5; ABS computer Inc., suffered additional damages of 2000.

What is the amount of damages the ABS computer INC was entitled to ? Explain

Solution: The contract provides that in November 1st, Fort Fabricators should deliver 1000
personal housings to ABS Computer INC, for a total price of 50000 USD. However, due to a
contract pricing modification decision made by Fort Fabricators on July 1st, the procedure did
not take place as planned in the contract agreed by the two parts, so on November 1 st; ABS
computer INC. bought the housings for 64000 USD instead of 50000 USD, and because of the
Delay, The company Suffered additional damages of 2000 USD.

So the amount of damages the ABS Computer INC. was entitled to is: 16000 USD

New Price – Original Price = Damages 64000 – 50000 = 14000

Total Damages = Damages + Additional Damages 14000 + 2000 = 16000 USD