Political and Legal Systems

Political and Legal Systems

Conducting business in another country presents many challenges, within the political and legal systems. This type of challenges needs to be evaluated not only by the home country but also the host country as well. The home country will need to determine and evaluate the opportunities and challenges while conducting business in another country. Because of the differences between the two nations; quality control, emergency management, and political corruption are examples of situations that could compromise an effective working relationship.

Political and Legal Systems of Brazil and England

The legal and political systems of England in the United Kingdom and Brazil become of major importance for British Petroleum (BP) as the company established headquarters in London, England, and will also like to establish operations in Brazil. The English political system as part of the United Kingdom, consist of a monarchy and a parliament system of the United Kingdom. The monarch becomes the head of state and appoints a prime minister to become the political leader of the United Kingdom and head of the majesty’s government, which could become interpreted as the president of a nation without a monarch such as Brazil. The parliament plays an important role in English politics as it complies with important functions such as debating and approving laws, allows the government to raise taxes, and evaluates and challenges governmental activities. The parliament could become considered the same as the Congress for a nation without a monarchy such as Brazil.

The Federal Republic of Brazil adopted as the country’s political system a federation of self-governed states belonging to a federal government, which elects a president every four years by majority becomes the head of state. According to the Embassy of Brazil (2001), “Brazil is organized as a federative republic, constituting the indissoluble union of the states, municipalities, and the Federal District” (Legal guide for the foreign investor in Brazil, para. 1). Brazil’s political system differs from the English political system as the Brazilian system allows the population to elect the people who will govern the country, unlike the English system in which the monarch elects the person who will govern the country. Brazil’s political structure became shaped by the new articles and amendments to a pre-existent Constitution, these changes became developed by the members of the Congress in October 1988.

England as a part of the United Kingdom adopts the English “common law” as the country’s legal system, and the English laws fall into criminal law and civil law categories. According to British Embassy (2008), “The responsibility for running the legal system in England and Wales is divided between the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office” (Who runs the legal system?, para. 1). The common law system allows businesses to raise private capital by running operations without interference from the government, allows an easier start for new businesses, and develops laws to protect property rights on innovation. The common law system also becomes strict in contract enforcement, but it becomes very lenient on labor laws such as hiring and firing employees as well as imposing weak regulations for bankruptcy. The English law system under ownership laws requires businesses to understand protections and obligations under governing law as well as adopting a recognized type of business that works best for company needs before registering the company. The English law system includes a series of regulations for business practices that consist of tax laws, unemployment laws, employment laws, and discrimination, antitrust laws, bribery laws, marketing restrictions on junk food ads, environmental control laws, technology transfer laws, health care system laws, and restrictions on imports and exports.

Brazil’s legal system based on Roman law adopts a civil code and consists of a series of laws stated in the Constitution. The legal system in Brazil becomes similar to the English legal system as these two are similar in code for business bankruptcy issues, and the main difference of these legal systems becomes that judges in Brazil hear civil cases, unlike in England where judges perform trials. The normal procedure used to approve laws consists of an equal approval of laws by both houses of the Congress, and the president’s draft approval before it becomes a law. Several laws influence the creation of businesses in Brazil, and the laws related to business operations include ownership laws and restrictions on foreign ownership. The country’s legal system possess similarities with the English legal system such as the tax laws, restriction on imports and exports, bribery laws, antitrust laws, marketing restriction laws, technology transfer and innovation laws. The Brazilian law system incorporates similar corporate laws than those in the English legal system as the business entities in Brazil become identical to those used in England, the United States, and most European countries. The Brazilian legal system