Australian Commercial Law — A Detailed Guide
Australian Commercial Law — A Detailed Guide
Commercial law, also known as business law, regulates and governs the directions of individuals, merchants, and businesses involved in trade, sales of goods and services, and other commercial activities.
The main branches of commercial law consist of contract law, consumer protection, laws regulating competition and intellectual property laws. Technically speaking, commercial law pertains to the laws dictating the transactions between businesses and consumers regarding commercial matters.
Commercial law covers two distinct areas — regulating commercial entities with the laws of company, partnership, agency, and bankruptcy and regulating business transactions with laws of contracts.
You can learn more about commercial law and what it means for you, in this guide.
What Does Commercial Law Cover?
Commercial law exists to protect businesses and consumers and avoid or resolve legal disputes between these parties.
The laws and regulations stated under commercial law aim to ensure fair trade between two or more parties involved in a particular business transaction.
However, commercial law is not limited to the above. Commercial law also regulates the starting of a company, its operations, and possible closure. A professional company lawyer will be well-versed in the entire scope of commercial law, which includes:
- Business formation
- Employment considerations
- Sales of consumer goods and services
- competition law
- Contract drafting and negotiations
- Immigration law
- Intellectual property
- environmental laws
- anti-discrimination laws
- Taxes
- Insolvency
Why Commercial Law is Important?
Commercial law is defined as the ‘body or law governing commercial and business activities.’
The primary purpose of commercial law in any country, including Australia, is to allow legal commercial activities to meet the demands of the business community and the wider public.
Simply put, commercial law enables trade, sales, and commerce while avoiding unethical and fraudulent activities, a core feature of a well-functioning society. A country with regulated commercial law can attract national and international businesses, establishing a strong economy and protecting consumers.
What are Common Legal Issues Under Commercial Law?
You will see that commercial laws are often connected with many different legal issues. And contract violations are considered the most common commercial law legal issues.
Many transactions between businesses and their consumers, suppliers, or other parties involve a contract stating the terms and obligations.
If one of the two or more contractual parties fails to meet the terms or obligations of the agreement, this is a breach of contract. A breach of contract can cause significant loss for innocent contractual party.
Apart from contract issues, commercial law legal issues can include the following:
- Issues, disputes, and violations with marketing or advertising
- Problems in commencing a new business
- Issues due to unfair competition
- Transferring, acquiring, or terminating a company
- Problems in protecting intellectual property and trade secrets
- Consumer complaints
- Issues in hiring, managing, and terminating employees
- Companies failing to adhere to environmental protection laws
What are the Commercial Law Disputes Resolution Methods?
Unlike other areas of law like criminal law, commercial law presents many distinct options to handle legal disputes. The solution to a legal dispute depends on the kind of conflict or violation involved in the situation. Here listed are some mechanisms used in commercial law disputes:
- Contract rescission for breach of contract or other termination of contract
- Monetary damages for losses or orders for account of profits
- mandatory orders or declarations by courts
- Business mediation
- Injunction which is a form of mandatory order
- Equitable relief
- remedies for tortious acts
Aside from the above-discussed resolution methods, many other alternative dispute resolution methods exist to resolve a commercial law dispute.
Summing it all up
In the modern era that we’ve found ourselves in, businesses and individuals operate in litigious times, where no company can simply survive by entering into a verbal agreement.
Commercial law is therefore crucial for organisations in enabling best business practices by providing a framework for business formation and operation, safeguarding ‘owners and shareholders’ interests, and resolving legal conflicts or disputes.
So, hiring a skilled company lawyer who understands how commercial law works in Australia can be one of the wisest decisions you make for your business in the long term.
