LAW 122 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1-6: Liability Insurance, Independent Contractor, Vicarious Liability
13 Jun 2018
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Ethics
Ethics is the critical, structured examination of how individuals and institutions should behave when
their actions affect others
- In ethical reasoning, we appeal to principles and values
- A value is something good that we ought to promote (ex: honestly, kindness, bravery, integrity)
- A principle is a rule, usually grounded in a value, that tells you what you should do
• ou should tell the tuth ost of the tie.
Ethical Principles and Values
4 kinds of ethical reasons:
1. Consequences: we should promote good consequences and avoid bad ones, for all concerned, in
the long run (happiness is good; pain is bad)
-promote good outcomes and avoid bad ones in the long run
- the greatest good for the greatest number
2. Fair/justice: we should make sure that good and bad consequences are distributed fairly. We
should pay our debts and treat like cases alike
- Give people their just desserts, pay your debts
3. Rights ad duties: e should potet ights ad pefo duties. These ae ofte eal
asolute
- When you make a promise, you make a duty to make that promise, not because of the
consequences but because it is your duty to fulfill that promise
- Respect rights and perform your duties
4. Character/virtue: we should consider what kind of people we want to be, and what example we
want to set.
An Ethical Reasoning Process
1. Get your facts straight
- Read carefully and understand the facts as they determine the relevance of any legal points you
make later
2. What are the next options?
3. Next ask:
a) Who will stand to lose/gain from each option? Who will be helped or hurt in some way?
b) Will a optio iolate soeoe’s ights, o eak a poise?
c) Are there any special duties of loyalty here?
4. Weigh the importance of A, B, and C
5. Make your decision
6. Is it a decision you could explain and stand by?
Ethical and Legal Reasoning
- Ethical and legal reasoning both involve reasoning about what it would be OK to do, or about
whether past behaviour was right or wrong (legally or ethically)
- Both kinds of reasoning require:
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• An understanding of the relevant facts
• An appreciation of relevant principles
• Some consideration of precedent and analogy, in order to achieve sufficient consistency
of judgement
Lecture 1: Chapter 1
May 9, 2018
11:24 AM
Why Student Law?
• As consumers, we all need to be aware of the rules that govern commercial transactions
• In terms of employment, we may intend to work in the public sector and if so, we need to
understand not only the nature of government organizations, but also the different types of law
that may affect me
• Various factors affect success and failure in business: decision making eg location choice
• Legal factors effect profits and losses: liabilities and opportunities
• Business decisions have legal consequences: negative eg. Dumping pollutants into environment
The Nature of Law
- A set of principles and rules that courts will enforce
- A way of thinking or reasoning about these principles and rules
Risk Management: Is the process of identifying, evaluating, and responding to the possibility of
harmful events
Risk Management steps:
Identification: what risks exist in a particular situation?
Evaluation: how serious are those risks?
Response: how will you react?
Risk Management strategies:
Avoidance: risk eliminated altogether
Reduction: risk should be decreased to an acceptable level
Shifting: a risk should be transferred to another party
Acceptance: a risk should be tolerated as a cost of doing business
Common Risk Management Techniques
Isuae: isk a e edued ad shifted otatig fo a isue’s poise to pay if a loss
occurs.
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• One party called the insured, promises to pay a price, called a premium. The other party called the
insurer promises to pay a certain amount of money if the insured suffers a certain type of loss.
• May consist of liability insurance or property insurance
Exclusion and limitation clause: risk may be reduced or eliminated by contracting for a right to
limit or exclude liability
Incorporation: a risk may be reduced by conducting business through a company
Civil Law: system trace their history to ancient Rome
Common Law: system trace their history to England.
- Judge made laws
Public Law: is concerned with governments and the ways in which they deal with their citizens. It
includes
• Constitutional law: providing the basic rules of our political and legal systems. Determines who is
entitled to create and enforce laws and it establishes the fundamental rights and freedoms that
Canadians enjoy
• Administrative law: is concerned with the creation and operation of those bodies. Ex: a human
rights tribunal may decide that a corporation discriminated against women by paying them less
than it paid men for work of similar value. If so, the company may be ordered to pay millions of
dollars in compensation.
• Criminal law: deals with offences against the state. Concerned with people who break rules that
are designed to protect society as a whole.
• Tax law: concerned with rules that are used to collect money for public spending.
Private law: is concerned with the rules that apply in private latters.
Private law is usually divided into three main parts:
• The law of tort: private wrong, an offence against a particular person.
I. Intentional torts such as assault and false imprisonment
II. Business torts such as deceit and conspiracy
III. Negligence which convers most situations in which one person carelessly hurts another
• The law of contracts is concerned with the creation and enforcement of agreements
I. The sale of goods
II. The use of negotiable instruments such as cheques
III. Real estate transactions
IV. Operation of corporations
V. The employment relationship
• Law of property is concerned with the acquisition, use and disposition of property
I. Real property which involves land and things that are attached to land
II. Personal property which involved things that can be moved from one place to another
III. Intellectual property which involved things that consist of original ideas, such as patents and
copyrights
Sources of Law
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Document Summary
Ethics is the critical, structured examination of how individuals and institutions should behave when their actions affect others. In ethical reasoning, we appeal to principles and values. A value is something good that we ought to promote (ex: honestly, kindness, bravery, integrity) A principle is a rule, usually grounded in a value, that tells you what you should do (cid:862)(cid:455)ou should tell the t(cid:396)uth (cid:373)ost of the ti(cid:373)e. (cid:863) 4 kinds of ethical reasons: consequences: we should promote good consequences and avoid bad ones, for all concerned, in the long run (happiness is good; pain is bad) Promote good outcomes and avoid bad ones in the long run. The greatest good for the greatest number: fair/justice: we should make sure that good and bad consequences are distributed fairly. We should pay our debts and treat like cases alike. Give people their just desserts, pay your debts: rights a(cid:374)d duties: (cid:449)e should p(cid:396)ote(cid:272)t (cid:396)ights a(cid:374)d pe(cid:396)fo(cid:396)(cid:373) duties.
