Introduction
Court option is a technique in the court that is deduced by the commitment it has to provide a comprehensive lay out of quality services in the court of law that mostly concern the criminal justice system (King, 2000). Such services maintain the safety of the public by creating new and better opportunities for people and at the same time gives the court other better alternatives to serve the individuals in equality and justice. M/S Bremen v. Zapata Off-Shore Co. is a case in which the petitioner was seeking review of the court of a legal document concerning a judgment brought forward by Circuit Court of Appeals (Justia U.S Supreme Court). A forum choice cause in an agreement between a German enterprise and the United States respondent company was held invalid by the lower court.
Analysis of the case
There was a business agreement between Germany and the United States that allowed the two countries to move an oil rig that would come from the Louisiana all the way to the Adriatic Sea. Things did not move as planned, and at the time that transportation was taking place, the rig was damaged, and it was dragged behind to Tampa in Florida. On this same note, a business in the United States that was affected by the transportation filed a suit in Tampa, but the company from Germany requested the court from the district to look into the forum selection clause that was included in the agreement, forcing the jurisdiction to be placed in England. However, the region court declined to uphold the statement, and the lower appellate court certified the decision from the district court.
In addition, the court agreed that the discussion choice provision ought to be implemented unless the people opposing the statement could demonstrate that requirement of the proviso would be irrational. From the case brought forward, the argument that such provision removed the court of jurisdiction was declared invalid. Besides, the German company failed to give up on the operation of the provision because it appeared in the federal court. Subsequently, the court validated the forum selection clause, and therefore, the case was confined to be determined at a later date, whether the authorization was unreasonable.
Therefore, discussion choice statements are by all appearances valid by law, and they require to be implemented unless the implementation techniques are viewed as unreasonable by the opposing party. To add more on this, it is a perfect doctrine that the governmental courts ought to follow in their offices' operations. In concluding the case, the court's judgment on the case was remanded to be revisited at a later time to declare it reasonable or unreasonable.
Foreign Corrupt Practice Act
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is a law initiated in the United States, and it was passed into law in 1977 (Bixby, 2010). This law focuses on prohibiting any organization from the United States, or an individual in the United States from giving bribes to other foreign officials as a way of getting an advantageous deal in business and at the same time going against the foreign duties. However, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act fails to state the kind of punishment to be dictated to corrupt officials, but it gives transparency guidelines in accounting.
When Bremen was heading to Italy to transport goods, a heavy storm arose that forced the Chaparral to break off, creating an emergency situation. Zapata acted against Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by instructing the Bremen to transport its rig to Tampa, Florida, claiming that it was the nearest town, but it could have been a trap to hijack all that was being transported to Italy, for selfish reasons to be deported to Florida.
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Generally, organizations that engage in business opportunities internationally find themselves entrapped in economic, social, political and cultural environments ruled by unfavorable laws and policies that regulate them from dealing with businesses as good as they should. Therefore, it is advisable for business owners to have a clear understanding that as long as they transact internationally, they are likely to encounter international commercial disputes in which, they may be required to resolve.
In the M/S Bremen v. Zapata Off-Shore Co. case, alternative dispute resolutions have been displayed. Zapata came to a conclusion of ignoring the agreement it had made to sue any dispute that could arise in any English court, but instead, it started a suit in admiral's office in U.S. in other words, Zapata viewed that if it started a suit in admiral’s office, it was the best option in solving dispute that would help the business to succeed. In addition, Unterweser was not sure about the pending action at Tampa, a court in the United States, and the period set aside to limit its liability was almost expiring. To avoid this, Unterweser decided to file an action that was determined to limit the liability it had with District Court in Tampa instead of limit the connection with Zapata. Ii is also wise to remember that the case was determined to carry out transactions between two companies that were far from each other. The transportation involved passing through waters, and whatever happened was just but an accident. The best alternative dispute resolution was to halt in Mexico and repair the transportation channel. By doing this, it ensured that no severe damage would occur and that goods being transported were safe and sound as the shipping channel was being repaired.
Environmental Business Management
Environmental management can be defined as administrative functions meant to formulate, apply and examine environmental policies of a company. In most cases, the government implements environmental management to ensure that the environment remains safe for the sake of people. Again, business management has a role to play to ensure that the kind of business it engages in is safe to the environment other than polluting it (Reed, 2008).
In the M/S Bremen v. Zapata Off-Shore Co. case, environmental business management was witnessed On Jan 5, 1968, when a deep sea tug Bremen that belonged to Unterweser left Vernice to Italy. Unexpectedly, a large storm arose thereby forcing part of the Chaparral elevator leg to break and fall into the sea. Obviously, the sea is part of the environment that sustains aquatic life such as fishes, large animals, as well as aquatic plants. The fact that part of Chaparral broke in is an environmental disaster because it will affect aquatic lives. Many of the fishes and large animals may die, and once they decay, they will affect the water terming it unfavorable for human consumption and domestic use. Also, product to be transported is a crucial factor to look into when it comes to environmental management.
Alternative dispute resolution practices
As much as business is concerned, there is a need to have more dispute resolution practices that will ensure that the business runs as expected, without favor or unlawful conditions. M/S Bremen v. Zapata Off-Shore Co. case can consider several other dispute resolution practices in conducting international business. For instance, binding arbitration is another form of resolving the dispute in which, the decision is not made by the court, but by those groups that do not agree with each other. This means that whatever arbitrator agrees upon, it must be respected and cannot by any chance be appealed by the court (Born, 2009).
Besides, the case can also consider neutral evaluation as another form of resolving a dispute. In neutral evaluation, the parties under dispute bring their cases to a neutral person, who in most cases is a lawyer, who weighs the case and give the decision according to the weight of the case. Neutral evaluation involves both decision making and non-decision making techniques, and in most cases, a neutral is called upon to act as a mediator (Hensler, 2003).
Another important dispute resolution practice this case can put in place is minitrial (Nolan-Haley, 2013) which is a dispute resolution technique that involves processes that both the business and the government use to resolve legal issues, without necessarily having had to waste time waiting for judicial proceedings. The above-stated practices show that once the M/S Bremen v. Zapata Off-Shore Co. case applies them, they will be successful.
References
Bixby, M. B. (2010). Lion Awakes: The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act-1977 to 2010, The. San Diego Int'l LJ, 12, 89.
Born, G. (2009). International Commercial Arbitration (Vol. 1). The Hague: Kluwer Law International.
Hensler, D. R. (2003). Our Courts, Ourselves: How the Alternative Dispute Resolution Movement is Re-shaping our Legal System. Penn St. L. Rev., 108, 165.
Justia U.S Supreme Court. (March 21, 1972). Retrieved from https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/407/1/case.html
King, P. (2000). Crime, Justice, and Discretion in England, 1740-1820 (pp. 77-78). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Nolan-Haley, J. (2013). Alternative Dispute Resolution in a Nutshell, 4th. West Academic.
Reed, M. S. (2008). Stakeholder Participation for Environmental Management: a Literature Review. Biological conservation, 141(10), 2417-2431.
