Overview
In the world impacted by COVID-19, the latest edition of Chambers “Doing Business In…” Guide serves as a reference and helpful tool for lawyers and investors alike, planning their international business and looking to understand the basic principles guiding the legal system of the contemplated jurisdictions.
The guide, co-edited by McDermott partners Jacques Buhart and Nicolas Lafont, offers a comparison of 46 jurisdictions worldwide, with easy to digest sections, covering local legal systems, foreign investment, corporate vehicles, employment law, tax, competition law, intellectual property and data protection.
Our lawyers provide insight into five jurisdictions: France, Germany, Italy, the UK and the United States.
In Depth
Doing Business in France
Authors: Laurent Ayache, Nicolas Lafont, Lionel Lesur, Jilali Maazouz, Laura Morelli, Sabine Naugès, Romain Perray and Antoine Vergnat
France is a civil law jurisdiction where most laws are codified. In the administrative law sphere, case law is paramount as legal precedents are established by judges. In judicial matters, judges also have an important role to play in the sense that they interpret and apply the law – they do not, however, create new laws. The judiciary, which is independent from the other powers exist¬ing in France (ie, executive and legislative powers), comprises two main branches: the judicial branch and the administrative branch. The judicial branch comprises civil and criminal courts, which deal with civil and criminal matters, respectively, while the administrative branch comprises administrative courts, which deal with administrative and public law disputes. Read More…
Doing Business in Germany
Authors: Mirjam Büsch, Dr. Thomas Gennert, Dr. Tobias Koppmann, Christian Krohs, Dr. Kian Tauser, Deniz Tschammler, Dr. Wolfgang von Frentz and Steffen Woitz
Germany is a federal, parliamentary, representative democratic republic with a multiparty system. The legal system in Germany is a civil law system. The legislative power is exercised in the federal parliament and the federal council. The 16 federal states have their own legislative bodies with responsibility for certain areas set out in the German constitution (Grundgesetz, GG), which is the ultimate source of German law. Read More…
Doing Business in Italy
Authors: Emidio Cacciapuoti, Ettore Scandale, Fabrizio Faina and Davide Massiglia
The Italian legal system is based on civil law. The Italian judicial order is divided into ordinary and special jurisdictions, and it is based on multiple tiers of judgments. The ordinary jurisdiction can be broken down into two sectors: (i) civil jurisdiction, whose purpose is to protect rights related to relations between private persons or between private persons and the public administration when the exercise of its duties adversely affects the civil law rights of another person; and (ii) criminal jurisdiction, referring to decisions taken as a result of the prosecution of an individual for criminal liabilities. Read More…
Doing Business in the UK
Authors: David Henry, Gary Howes, Paul McGrath, James Ross and Eleanor West
England and Wales operate a common law legal system. This means that the law develops by way of both statutory legislation and case law, which are regarded as equally weighted. For example, in England and Wales the laws of tort and contract are not grounded, for the most part, in statutory legislation and instead are established and developed in case law. It is important to note that there is no unified legal system across the UK. Distinct from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland operate separate legal systems. Read More…
Doing Business in the USA
Authors: David Grimes and G. N. Smith Alpert
The US legal system is composed of several coexisting layers of laws that work in concert with each other. As a federation comprised of 50 states, the District of Columbia and several self-governing territories, the USA has two primary levels of governance and legal systems that exist in parallel: (i) the federal government that establishes laws for all of the USA and its peo¬ple, and (ii) the state governments that govern their respective geographical area and residents. In other words, the USA has a federal government under which each state has the authority to autonomously enact and enforce laws that do not conflict with those of the federal government. Read More…
