International Law

International law is composed of rules, customs, treatises between and among nations, and decisions by the International Court of Justice, which impact the legal transactions between nations, their governments, businesses, and organizations. The area of international law is continuously evolving, with nations adapting new rules as new customs and treatises arise. Nations are free to adopt or reject international laws, although there are instances when groups of countries pressure other groups of countries to ratify an international law in order to achieve goals that have universal effect.

The United Nations, and its counterpart court, the International Court of Justice, are the most influential organizations in the world with respect to international law. The United Nations regularly convenes to pass so-called conventions to address transnational issues, such as territorial disputes, human trafficking, human rights violation, environmental issues, and business transactions.

There are two types on international law: public and private. Public international law governs the disputes and transactions between nations, while private international law governs the legal disputes between the citizens of different nations.

While international law is difficult to define as a single body of law, there are three principles that govern: (1) principle of comity, (2) act of state doctrine, and (3) doctrine of sovereign immunity. Under the principle of comity, one of two nations who share common public policy ideas submits to the laws and judicial decrees of the other. Under the Act of State Doctrine, nations around the world agreed to respect the sovereignty of a nation in its own territory and agreed not to interfere with official domestic actions. Under the Doctrine of Sovereign Immunity, nations are immune from suits, unless they waive such immunity.

International law is a complicated set of laws that require the interpretation of expert international law attorneys. One of the issues arising from international law would be its enforceability. In cases of U.N. conventions, there are signatory states but not all signatory states ratify the conventions, which means the signatory states agree to the conventions but do not agree to implement the conventions to their national jurisdiction. In fact, the question of enforceability alone has spawned an area of the law where experts are sought after to answer this very specific question.

In the United States, the enforceability of international law is often highlighted in cases when a foreign national is convicted of a criminal offense, or when an American citizen is convicted of a criminal offense in another country. Depending on the agreement between the United States and the country where the convict is a citizen, there might exist an extradition agreement, which will usually provide that the country of the citizen will have jurisdiction over the convict. There might not exist an extradition agreement, and, because a criminal offense is a matter of national security, the country where the American citizen was convicted would not hand over jurisdiction to the United States. It is thus crucial to employ the assistance of an international law attorney as both municipal and international laws are complicated sets of law that need the interpretation of experts.

Areas of Law

Sexual Harassment Law - Legal Information and Resources

Sexual Harassment

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission prohibits the harassment of any applicant or employee due to that person's sex. Sexual harassment, under the EEOC, is defined as any unwelcome sexual advances, offensive remarks, physical harassment of a sexual nature, or requests for sexual favors. Sexual harassment also includes employment decisions arising from the individual's acceptance or rejection of the unwelcome conduct. These decisions include hiring or promotion when the individual accepts the conduct, or rejection of application or demotion at work when the individual rejects the conduct. While sexual harassment law was originally intended to punish male offenders and protect female victims, the law has expanded to encompass woman as offender and man as victim and members of the LGBT community as both offender and victim. In the workplace setting, simple teasing and offhand comments are not prohibited but can be considered sexual harassment if done frequently and results to the creation of a hostile work environment.

Sexual harassment law is part of the more-encompassing Employment Discrimination Law. Sexual harassment law is also included in Civil Rights Law. Often times, sexual harassment law involves personal injury law as some conduct leads to personal injuries, prompting victims to seek redress under personal injury law. Both federal and private employees are given avenues for the complaint, filing and resolution of sexual harassment. Many states have also passed Fair Employment Practice laws to address sexual harassment. When the sexual harassment leads to personal injuries, laws would vary from state to state.

Under the EEOC, victims of sexual harassment has until 180 days to file a sexual harassment charge against the offender. Federal employees are given 45 days to contact an EEO counselor following the act of sexual harassment. Although the law punishes sexual harassment, it is not uncommon that many of these acts go unreported as applicants or employees fear retaliation from the offender. For federal employees, a victim need not file a claim for the act to be punished as the federal government, especially the Office of Civil Rights, regularly investigates alleged sexual harassment. If supervisors and officials fail to report any sexual harassment, the S/OCR considers this as violation of its anti-sexual harassment campaign and may initiate a disciplinary action against anyone who failed to report such conduct. Aside from reporting to the government agencies of the sexual harassment, employees may also pursue mediation of the alleged conduct in order to attempt to resolve the problem. Employees can also file grievances with the EEO, although this avenue is not available for some civil servants.

Sexual harassment is a prevalent work-related problem, but, often because of the status of the offender (superior) and the victim (inferior) at work, these conducts go unreported. Sexual harassment also is difficult to detect especially when no one is complaining. For the company's part, it is best to employ labor law attorneys to ensure that the business is complaint with anti-sexual harassment law as violation of the law may lead to disciplinary actions for the offender and penalties for the companies. For the victim's part, battling for compensation as a result to sexual harassment may prove difficult because one's employment may be at stake. It is thus a good idea to hire a sexual harassment law attorney to help argue for the conduct and win the damages that are due to the aggrieved party.

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Wills And Probate Law - Legal Information and Resources

Wills And Probate

Part of preparing for the time when an individual dies is estate planning. Included in estate planning is the creation of a last will and testament, a written and legal expression under which the individual determines what should be done to his properties when he dies. An individual executed a will before he died is said to have died "testate," while an individual who died without leaving a will prior to his death is said to have died "intestate." Leaving a will is not a guarantee that the distribution of the individual's properties will be smooth following his death as a will can be, and, is often, challenged. Probate is the legal process of administering the deceased person's estates, resolving claims against the deceased person's estate, and distributing the deceased person's properties.

Probate begins with the filing of a petition by an heir, creditor, or an interested party, asking the court for a right to settle an estate. The petition must be filed where the deceased owned a property. If the deceased owned properties in other areas, then petitions must be filed in each of the areas where the properties are located. The petition must name the heirs of the deceased, their relationship, and their residence. When the deceased died testate, the will be taken to court, probed of its authenticity, and recorded in the book of register kept by the clerk of court. After this, the court appoints an executor or administrator to settle the estate. An executor is named when the deceased died testate, while an administrator is named when the deceased died intestate. An administrator is required to post a bond with the court to ensure that he can properly complete his duties. Following the appointment of either executor or administrator, an appraiser will be called in to assess the value of the deceased's properties. During probate, the executor or administrator may sell some of the properties of the estate to settle the deceased's unpaid debts. Heirs, creditors and interested parties may challenge the will by asserting that they are entitled to more than what is indicated in the will. The court will then decide which of these claims are valid. Potential creditors are notified of probate proceedings as there is also a statute of limitations for the filing of claims. Failure to timely file claims may lead to their extinguishment. Child custody may also be included during probate when the deceased person left behind minor or incapacitated children.

Issues on inheritance is settled by state law, thus, rules and regulations vary differently from state to state. In cases where the individual owns properties in different states, it is imperative to seek the assistance of an expert attorney to determine the laws that would apply to the properties, especially on the areas of taxation. The federal government has attempted unify the often conflicting state probate laws by enacting the Uniform Probate Code. Not all states, however, have adopted the Code, so the issues arising from probate are still difficult to tackle without the help of expert probate laws attorney.


Areas of Law