2010-08-16 Commercial law covers a wide range of topics from employment laws to environmental safety laws. Trafigura is a Swiss based company that deals with oil trading. They have just been fined 1 million Euros for exporting toxic waste. The waste was sent to the Ivory Coast. The fine also included the concealment of harmful waste.
The company did try to clean up hundreds of tonnes of oil by using a caustic soda. Unfortunately, it didn%u2019t work out as planned. The ship carried the oil from Amsterdam to the Ivory Coast. It was possible that Trafigura would be prosecuted for the toxic waste, but it seems for now most are satisfied with the company being fined. If prosecution does occur most likely the case will be held in the Netherlands. The first thing that happened in this case is the company tried to put the waste in Amsterdam for treatment. They declared it as harmless; however, they baulked at the cost it would be to leave the waste there for cleaning. The Port Services was asking for 750 Euros per tonne, especially once they realised the product was not as harmless as the company claimed. Trafigura did pay 27 Euros per tonne to Compagnie Tommy. This company is an Ivory Coast corporation. The company used a fleet of trucks to dump the slop in the open air near Abidjan. In the court case where they were fined for the dumping of waste, Trafigura denied any knowledge of the transaction. They also stated there was limited human health risk and they had no intention of damaging Amsterdam. The captain was also fined for the issue, since he was in charge of the ship and should have transported the waste appropriately. The fine is a small amount considering the 651 million GBP profit the company made last year. 2010-07-30 Commercial property is the name used for real estate which is mainly used for companies and organisations which are out to make money for profit or income. This could be shopping malls, office buildings, garages, and eating establishments. This type of property can be paid for by someone who wants to develop them for a future plan or leased through a real estate broker. Commercial property sits right in the centre between industrial property and residential property.
In every city there is a procedure used which is called zoning which aims to ensure the correct use of property within these certain areas. For any organisation wanting permission to have a new building put up or another kind of profit making organisation, the government will make sure that the zone which has been picked is used only for commercial property and nothing else. There are maps which clearly mark out the different type of areas which are separated for housing, industrial and shops. The city will let a sale to go through if the particular company falls in a commercial area. But, if it doesn%u2019t fall in a area for commercial use and goes into a housing area for residents or an industrial area then the buyer then has to find something which is called a %u2018variance%u2019, which gives the permission to enter a different zone. This type of property can be held on to by the same estate agents who also sell houses. Signs can put up which can have the availability and the size of the property. And in some occasions a developer who%u2019s in this profession, will buy large amounts of land and huge quantities of property for the basic reason to make sure its availability for a date later on. 2010-07-23 Commercial Property
Commercial property is the term used for real estate which is ideally only used for businesses making a profit, for instance office buildings, shopping centres, petrol stations and cafes and restaurants. Commercial property can be bought out right by someone who wishes to develop them for ongoing future projects or leased through a real estate broker. Commercial property has a place in the middle between industrial property and residential property. It is known that in every city there is a system used which is referred to as zoning which helps to regulate the use of property within these specific zones. For permission to be granted to have a new office building put up or another type of profit making business, the government must ensure that the area which has been chosen is actually used for commercial property and nothing else. There are maps which clearly mark out he zones which are separated for residential, industrial and commercial property. The city will allow a sale to proceed if the proposed business falls in a commercial area. However, if it fails to fall in a commercial area and goes into a residential area or an industrial area then the buyer then has to seek something called a %u2018variance%u2019, which grants special permission to cross over the boundary of the zone. Commercial property can be held on to by estate agents who also sell property for residents. They can put up signs which can show the availability and the size of the property in question, and they can also help with the arrangements where the sale of the plots and also the rent of the plots can be made into smaller lots. The people who are selling the plot of land might also want to make certain change to the land, for instance clearing out overgrown trees, or evening out certain areas of the land. And sometimes a professional developer will buy large lots of land and vast amounts of commercial property for the simple reason to make sure its availability for a date later on. 2010-07-15 The term %u2018commercial law%u2019 is a body of law that controls, and leads the wide and occasionally vague descriptive locations of business, customer buying and commerce. The initial description of commercial law has grown in to a definite and ideal group of laws that only apply to the broad range of pursuits, transactions and also commercial activities. The main goal of a civil law dictates with dilemmas which are both easy and difficult to solve and which also refer to queries of both the laws in the public and private sector. The commercial law is a governing body which overlooks the sale of goods and services, and an exact process for the smooth transaction for payments which have to be made.
Many countries use civil guidelines that include highly detailed documents with regard to this law. In the US, commercial law is controlled by Congress which was granted power by the governments of the state under the jurisdiction of the power from the police. And these laws originated from the 17th century from the merchant law and were initial involved into common law. The United States federal government has tried, so far, in vain to have a kind of unified law within the passing of the Uniform Commercial Code. These laws in the UK are mainly of use to the domestic consumer, and globally these laws have expanded due to an ever increase in trade. There is a definite need for united commercial law practice as it has become apparent from the jointly sponsored survey of international solicitors which was created by the Lexis Nexis and also included was the Bar Association who is internationally known. It showed that although many legal dilemmas were still on the domestic side, there is a confluence of laws in various locations of both investment and trade. Many solicitors were questioned over a period of time and they all said that a degree of standardization on level of international status for investment and trade would benefit trade globally. 2010-07-07 Rachel Berkel, 40, has been jailed after a court case exposing her fraud. Berkel posed as a struggling mother, single. She obtained 28,000 pounds from the government in benefits. The benefits were for income support, housing, and taxes. Berkel is a mother of one child from Knutsford, Cheshire. She has earned tens of thousands of pounds working in the real estate business.
Berkel bought and sold houses, becoming a property tycoon. She owned at least 5 properties in the north of England. She even worked for an escort agency. Investigators uncovered the fraud by looking at her claims. She claimed housing and council tax benefits. Yet, at the time she had 42,000 pounds in her bank account. Her regular job was as a sales agent at an escort agency. As the investigation continued regarding her schemes it was found she cheated the government for 5 years before she was caught. During her case she admitted to 15 counts of fraud that totalled close to 28,000 pounds. Berkel spent 2 months in jail for benefit fraud. The claims she made for benefits were in Trafford, Cheshire East, and South Lakeland. She also obtained income help from the Department of Work and Pensions that she was not eligible for. In 2008 Berkel was caught by authorities when she claimed benefits on a rented property. However, she owned a house in Cumbria at the time. The rental was actually faked. She created a fake tenancy agreement as a con. The agreement showed she was renting the property, but she actually owned it. This discovery is what led an investigation in 2008 to show her other schemes. She had to pay back 17,500 pounds, almost half of what she claimed. What makes this case horrible is that other people truly need the benefits and support, but she didn%u2019t. She took from others who could have used it. Some individuals are upset that her two months in jail will be all she will see. Also, they are upset over her paying back less than she actually defrauded these benefit agencies for. Yet, the court felt it was enough. 2010-06-29 Before you need legal documents on your commercial property you have to find the property, whether it is a building or a piece of land. To start your search for commercial property, consider using online resources. There are a number of property database searches you can do on the internet. Simply type in the property you desire, the cost price you%u2019d like to pay and results will be displayed.
The internet is a good place to start your search; however, you do not want to stop there. You will need a real estate agent in commercial property to further help your endeavours. A property agent can help you negotiate the cost of the property, as well as ensure you are getting the best deal. They can find out more about a property of interest such as why the business is selling the property. If you do not want to buy property, then you can move directly into what document templates you might need for your business. In a purchase it is always good to have an agent, but with a letting situation you can find the property agreements you need online. For example in commercial property letting situations you may need a commercial lease agreement. A commercial lease agreement is set up to help you and a landlord agree to letting terms. If you use a document template found online, know that it will be general in nature. The landlord can decide to change certain aspects of the agreement to fit the terms and conditions you are both agreeing to in the commercial property letting scheme. By using the document you do not have to involve lawyers or real estate agents. This is due to the legal aspects of the document. Once signed, it is binding in a court of law. It will protect you if a breach of contract occurs. So either way, finding property and the legal documents you require can be done using online resources. 2010-05-05 A sales agency agreement can be used to appoint an agent for the sale and marketing of a product or service. The agency agreement will need to state whether the agent is to work exclusively for your company or whether they will be able to work for others, perhaps even competitors, at the same time as working for you.
An agency agreement is a legal document containing the terms by which the agent shall operate for you. It is likely that the sales agent will not just be selling products and/or service to customers, but also finding new customers too. An agency agreement is not required for employees of a company whose job it is to hunt for new customers. The agency agreement is to be used for an agent, i.e. a person not directly employed by the company. You can purchase sales agency agreements online at a fraction of the price of high street solicitors. The majority of sales agency agreements are drafted from the companies perspective, meaning the agreement is often slightly biased to the interests of the company rather than the agent. In order to prevent a conflict of interests from occurring, it is recommended to request the agent to work exclusively for your company and not competitors, or rather no competitors in the same area, so that you have priority. The agency agreement will set down the expected revenue the sales agent must sell in month or week, to establish a target. This target may be amended on a month to month basis depending on the economy or the performance of the agent in any given period. The sales agent may begin on a low sales target which gradually increases as relationships are affirmed between the agent and customers. There are regulations currently in place for sales agents. These EU regulations cover any pay off owed to the agent at the end of the agency agreement and a commission schedule, where appropriate. Many sales agency agreements purchased online can be customised to cater for your companies particular needs, and create an exclusive or non exclusive relationship between the sales agent and your company. 2010-04-13 A loan agreement is a necessary and frequently used document in the world of commerce. A commercial loan agreement takes many forms, and can be unsecured, secured by a guarantor, or secured by financial regulations.
Commercial loan agreements are subject to little legislation and statutory regulation, which is a good thing for the negotiating power of the parties, but a bad thing for the weaker of the parties, if the bargaining power is far from equal. The parties are free to more or less create a deal to suit their individual requirements, and this type of agreement could be drafted in such a way as to strongly favour one party over the other, without reducing the accuracy of the loan agreement. Interest rates chargeable by either party in accordance with the terms of the loan agreement should not be unreasonable, however, the calculation of the monthly interest rate will depend upon the base rate from time to time. The base rate is formulated by the Bank of England whereby generic interest rates are based on a certain percentage over base rate. This means that, assuming the base rate was at 5%, and the loan agreement stated 3% over base rate, the total percentage of interest payable on the balance per month would be 8%. The loan agreement enables a borrower to repay a loan within a specified amount of time. The loan agreement may contain penalty clauses for late monthly payments, or for defaulting. A standard commercial loan agreement shall be suitable for an individual or company either borrowing or lending money, regardless of the genre of business concerned. Commercial loan agreements are not suitable for use to loan or borrow money in regard to consumers because a commercial loan agreement is not created in accordance with the Consumer Credit Act 1974. 2010-04-07 If you are starting up a business in the UK you will need to let a building and for this type of transaction you will need a lease agreement. This agreement will allow letting office space, retail space, a warehouse or other types of commercial property for your business. The lease agreement that you choose should have a template that is easy to use yet can be customised to meet your specific needs. Also, you want to make sure that the lease agreement is legally binding so it should be prepared through a solicitor or a site that has had it prepared using a solicitor.
A commercial lease agreement can be used by the landlord or by the tenant. Most lease agreements will favour the landlord and it will be up to the tenant to disallow any clauses that they are not comfortable with. A commercial lease agreement should work well on any type of commercial property that is being let so that more than one lease agreement does not have to be purchased. You want to make sure that you have a lease agreement before you let any tenant take possession of the commercial property. This protects your interests and that of the tenant. A lease agreement can be used for short term leases or longer periods of time. If there are certain points that both the landlord and tenant agree upon that are not included in the template then there needs to be a way to edit and customise the lease agreement. Some things that should be included in a lease agreement would include definitions of the property and how it will be used: the granting of the lease, how much the rent will be, if any insurance needs to be carried by the landlord or tenant and rates and taxes. If the tenant will be responsible for paying the utilities this should be defined in the lease agreement. By putting all of these contingencies in the lease agreement there can be no confusion about who is responsible for what throughout the term of the lease. You would not want to let a commercial space without a firm lease agreement in place. With a lease agreement the rent will remain the same until it is time to renew the lease or you move out. It also protects the landlord because they know when to expect the rent and how long they will have a tenant. 2010-01-20 In 1979, the Sales of Goods Act was revised to cater to subsequent legislation and changed from the original Acts that were developed in 1893. This changed consolidated and codified the commercial laws. Since 1979, several minor statutory alterations were changed to the ACT for the purpose of adding additions.
This Act is used to perform a number of functions. The Sales of Goods Act provides business owners with an obligatory legal set of rules, yet the restrictions are limited. In summary, the vast part of the ACT is simply designed to address some concerns that revolve around a group of assumptions, which are implied by the terms. These concerns focus on commercial expectations that reside in the most common contracts agreed upon by two or more entities. In the nonattendance of opposing contract these terms as outlined in the Act will preside over any contract agreement within the Acts remit. Via lowered bargaining expenses, legal certainties has led to various adoptions in jurisdictions that surround legislation wholesale and its versions of the Act that has been adopted in nearly all former territories in the British Empire and the Commonwealth. Canada has not been included yet into this Act. The Sales of Goods Act 1979 addresses the contracts that involve property in goods which has been transferred for pecuniary consideration. Property in legal terms is defined as ownership. The Terms: Terms of the Act imply that the contract falls within the Sales of Good Act and breach of the terms from a seller could give way to litigation whereas the buyer could sue for damage. This may lead to the termination of the contract. Slightness of the breach of contract may render that it is unwarranted for the non-consumer purchaser to refuse the merchandise based on description, or the quality of fitness and/or sample. The buyer can then claim damages only for the breach of contract. This amendment in the Act is set to moderate the older strict approaches in the English laws to the contractual breach in commercialization context. Some of the implied terms in regards to the title in Section 12 has been integrated into the contracts which include a term in which the seller may have the legal title to the ownership (property) that is to be sold, or this entity may hold the title to the property that is to be passed. In this section there are two warranties, which imply as well that the purchaser of the goods shall enjoy peaceful possession of his merchandise and his goods shall be freed of any encumbrances, e.g. third-party with liens over merchandise and/or seller liens. Finally, commercial laws and acts should be considered by any business owner or purchaser to avoid complications. The terms may be harsh or even controversial, and we see that in the case of Rowland vs. Dival. In Section 13 (1), buyers who purchase goods by description require that the seller present merchandise that conforms to that description. | Author
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