Legal Aspects of International Trade and Enterprises samples for Stud

Question: Discuss About Legal Aspects Of International Trade And Enterprises? Answer: Introducation: A major Australian company in its retailing industry is Woolworths Limited and the company has extensive retail interests across New Zealand, as well as, Australia (Reuters, 2017). In terms of its revenue, the company is the second largest one in the nation, and is just behind the conglomerate based in Perth, Wesfarmers Limited. Moreover, Woolworths is the second largest company in New Zeeland also. The company is also the largest hotel and gaming poker machine operator, the largest takeaway liquor retailer in the nation, and globally, the company stood at 19th position across the world for the year of 2008. The global headquarters of the company is located in Bella Vista, New South Wales, Australia (Woolworths Group, 2017a). The company has been listed for over twenty years in the Australian Securities Exchange, which is ASX in short (ASX, 2017). It is a public company and has been ranked as 2nd out of two thousand companies in the nation. The majority of the income of the company is generated from the grocery stores and the supermarkets which Woolworths has in Australia. Including its sales and the other revenue, the company generated total revenue, for the year of 2016, of $58,563,300,000 (IBIS, 2016). For the year of 2016, the company had 205000 employees in Australia and New Zealand, and this figure was inclusive of the employees from all of the subsidiaries which are under the control of Woolworths Limited. The company employs over 2,200 indigenous people in Australia. There are over 79,000 young employees in the company (Woolworths Group, 2016a). Woolworths Supermarkets employs on a team of 111,000 Australians (Woolworths Group, 2017b). The Chief Executive of the company has been given the official title of Chief Executive Office and the Managing Director and the position is held by Mr. Brad Banducci. The Chairman of the company has been given the official title of Non-Executive Chairman and this position is held by Mr. Gordon Cairns. The company operates as the retailer of home improvement, food, general merchandise, petrol and liquor, along with having its operations in the sector of gaming and hospitality (IBIS, 2016). The main business operations of the group have been categorized in different divisions. Supermarkets and Petrol is one of such divisions. The company has 530 petrol station through its co-brands Caltex Safeway outlets and Caltex Woolworths; 184 Countdown grocery stores which are located in New Zealand; 992 Woolworths Supermarkets; and 5 Thomas Dux grocery stores. Big W is another division of Woolworths, and the company operates 186 Big W different discount departmental stores in the nation, and is a retailer of health beauty products, pet food, automotive goods,software, sporting goods, toys, clothing, homewares, books,stationery, andhardware. In its Hotels division, through Australian Leisure Hospitality Group, which is majorly held as the companys subsidiary, Woolworths operates 331 licensed venues, along with the gaming operations throughout the nation. The company also operates in the homeware and apparel catalogue market by the name of Ezibuy, which is an omnichannel retailer and is the supplier of different products (IBIS, 2016). Regulatory Framework of Australia All the companies which are incorporated in Australia or which have their operations in the nation are required to abide by a number of regulatory framework, in form of legislations, their associated regulations, and the codes. The applicability of these is governed by the regulatory bodies, having the responsibility for same. As Woolworths is a major company in Australia, it has to follow a range of different regulatory frameworks, some of which have been stated below. Woolworths is registered as a company in Australia, which makes the Corporations Act, 2001 (Cth), applicable on the company. Due to the applicability of this act, Woolworths is required to follow the provisions regarding the appointment of the directors, their duties, and the name of the company, the memorandum of the company, the requisite disclosures and the various meetings (Federal Register of Legislation, 2017). The evidence of this act can be seen through the 2016 Annual Report of Woolworths, where the company made the disclosure pursuant to section 299A(1) of this act. This particular disclosure was made in accordance to the ASIC Regulatory Guide 247 Effective Disclosure in an Operating and Financial Review (RG 247), which was issued in March 2013 (Woolworths Group, 2016a). The requirements of the independence of the auditors were not breached and the provisions of this act were properly followed, in addition to the ones set out in the Code of Conduct APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants issued by the Accounting Professional Ethical Standards Board. Even the consolidated financial statement of the Woolworths Group had been prepared as per this act, in addition to the IFRS, which stands for International Financial Reporting Standards, and the Australian Accounting Standards and Interpretations. Pursuant to the section 295A of the Corporations Act 2001, the directors made the declarations in the companys annual report. The company was also in compliance with the section 300A of this act (Woolworths Group, 2016a). The company had to face significant costs due to the changes in the Workplace health and safety regulations which are applicable on the company. As Woolworths has its operations in NSW, it has to adhere to the legislation in form of Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW), the regulation in form of Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (NSW), the codes in form of NSW Codes of Practice, and the regulator for these is SafeWork NSW (Business, 2017a). Under the law of Commonwealth of Australia, along with its states and territories, the companys operations are subjected to a range of environmental regulations. Hence, Woolworths is required to fulfill the requirements set out under the Environment Protection Act 1970 and Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Business, 2017b). Though, no liabilities were incurred by the group under any of the applicable environmental legislations. The companys financial report, for the year of 2016, was prepared as per the Corporations Regulations 2001, along with the Australian Accounting Standards (Woolworths Group, 2016a). International Treaties, Covenants and Agreements When any organization works in a global environment, a plethora of legislations, treaties, covenants and international agreements become applicable on it. As Woolworths has it operations in both Australia and New Zealand, a number of international laws become applicable on it. Some of such international frameworks applicable on Woolworths have been summarized below. An international treaty, which is applicable on the multinational companies, is the general treaty of the UN, also known as United Nations, by the name of the United Nations Charter. The duties and rights of all of the nations are covered under the UN Charter. It sets out various activities as the domestic responsibility of the nations. However, at times, these are coupled with some limitations, based on international declarations, legislations, treaties and conventions. The bases of these are the peripheral development of the natural resources, which has the impact on various environment related activities (Garner, 2017). The company has a huge base of human resource. And as a result of this, the company adheres to the Stockholm Declaration. The full name for Stockholm the Declaration is United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, Stockholm 1972. And it works towards the interactions which the individuals have with the environment. The Stockholm Declaration consists of twenty seven principles, which include human rights to be properly asserted, adhering to the environmental policies, safeguarding of natural resources and wildlife, keeping the pollution under check, assisting the developing nations, improving the environment through development, and various other provisions (Dodds, Strauss and Strong, 2012). A growing need of the present day is the adherence to the principles of corporate governance. Good corporate governance held in maintaining the confidence of the market, along with the integrity of the business. The OECD, i.e., Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development sets out certain principles in this regard, which are known as the G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance. These principles act as a strong towards investment being a powerful driver of growth (OECD, 2015). Even though the principles given by the OECD are not directly applicable over Woolworths, the company voluntarily adopts some of its principles, in form of its own Corporate Governance Framework. Further, the company takes the drawn policies and documents in this regard, very seriously and practices the same. The company releases a Corporate Governance Statement each year, which sets out the governance framework which is adopted by the Groups Board. This Statement also includes details of the work done in this regard over the previous years (Woolworths Group, 2017c). The company adopts a Securities Trading Policy which helps in both promoting and maintaining the reputation of the company. This is the result why the company has the reputation for excellent corporate governance, fair dealing and compliance in the securities, which include the performance rights, options and shares. Being committed towards the health, safety, as well as, wellbeing of its stakeholders, which include team members, visitors, customers, business partners and contractors, the company had drawn a Safety and Health Policy. In line with these, the company has drawn a Code of Conduct and the Board Charter (Woolworths Group, 2017c). The company has also taken steps towards the maintenance of environment to attain sustainability. The company realizes that it has to power to influence the retail supply chain in Australia, for becoming sustainable, along with reducing the carbon footprint. The company had set a target, which it wanted to attain by the year of 2015 in this regard. And presently, the company is on its way of attaining these objectives. The company works in the major areas of climate change and carbon emissions, waste and recycling, packaging, sourcing and water (Woolworths Group, 2017d). The company aims to attain 40% reduction in the carbon emissions as per the projected growth levels by the year of 2015 and this would bring down the emission to the levels of 2006. The company is also aimed at attaining a 25% reduction in the carbon emissions per carton by the year of 2012, which is delivered by the Woolworths-owned trucks. The company also has the objective of reducing the carbon emission by up to 30% in comparison to the company fleet by the year of 2010. The company is also working towards reducing its water usage each year by the amount of 200 million liters by the end of 2010. The company has realized that just being energy efficient is not enough for the planet. And so, it sets out as the market leader in making the stores, facilities and trucks of the company less energy intensive and greener (Woolworths Group, 2017d). The reasons for working towards these environment related objectives stem from the international treaties. One of such treaty is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which is in short UNCCC, as well as, the Kyoto Protocol. Both of these are aimed at reducing the greenhouse gas emissions so as to curb the effect of these over the climate. UNFFF was initially found in 1992 and it is aimed towards the stabilization of the greenhouse gases, so that the negative impact of these gases on the climate can be decreased (Leal-Arcas, 2013). Through this particular treaty, the greenhouse gases limit for each of the nation is specified (Harrison, 2013). In line with the UNFCCC, another treaty was formed by the name of Kyoto Protocol. This treaty works towards reducing the emissions from the greenhouse gases. The raison d'tre for the particular focus on these gases stem from the presence of signs of global warming, which are born out of the carbon dioxide emissions, resulting from the actions of man (Krber, Schwirzenbeck and Barth, 2008). The objectives of UNFCCC are implemented through the Kyoto Protocol. So, both of these, work towards reducing the global warming as a menace. For this, the concentration is upon the removal of the greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere, by bringing these at a certain level. This particular level helps in prevention of the anthropogenic interferences, which are dangerous for the climate system (Massai, 2011). References ASX. (2017) WOW. [Online] ASX. Available from: https://m.asx.com.au/m/company-info.xhtml?issuerCode=WOW [Accessed on: 26/04/17] Business. (2017a) WHS/OHS acts, regulations and codes of practice. [Online] Australian Government. Available from: https://www.business.gov.au/info/run/workplace-health-and-safety/whs-oh-and-s-acts-regulations-and-codes-of-practice [Accessed on: 26/04/17] Business. (2017b) Environmental legislation. [Online] Australian Government. Available from: https://www.business.gov.au/info/run/environmental-management/environmental-legislation [Accessed on: 26/04/17] Dodds, F., Strauss, M., and Strong, M.F. (2012) Only One Earth: The Long Road via Rio to Sustainable Development. Oxon: Routledge, p. 11. Federal Register of Legislation. (2017) Corporations Act 2001. [Online] Federal Register of Legislation. Available from: https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2013C00605 [Accessed on: 26/04/17] Garner, E.L. (2017) International Treaties Governing Mineral Exploration. [Online] UNESCO-EOLSS. Available from: https://www.eolss.net/Sample-Chapters/C09/E6-65-05-04.pdf [Accessed on: 26/04/17] Harrison, J. (2013) The European Union and South Korea: The Legal Framework for Strengthening Trade, Economic and Political Relations. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. IBIS. (2016) Woolworths Ltd - Premium Company Report Australia. [Online] IBIS. Available from: https://www.ibisworld.com.au/australian-company-research-reports/retail-trade/woolworths-ltd-company.html [Accessed on: 26/04/17] Krber, C., Schwirzenbeck, M. and Barth, K. (2008) The Kyoto Protocol. Norderstedt: GRIN Verlag. Leal-Arcas, R. (2013) Climate Change and International Trade. Massachusetts: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, pp, 241-245. Massai, L. (2011) The Kyoto Protocol in the EU: European Community and Member States under International and European Law. Prato, Italy: Springer Science Business Media. OECD. (2015) G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance. [Online] OECD. Available from: https://www.oecd.org/daf/ca/Corporate-Governance-Principles-ENG.pdf [Accessed on: 26/04/17] Reuters. (2017) Woolworths Ltd (WOW.AX). [Online] Reuters. Available from: https://in.reuters.com/finance/stocks/companyProfile?symbol=WOW.AX [Accessed on: 26/04/17] Woolworths Group. (2016a) 2016 Annual Report. [Online] Woolworths Group. Available from: https://www.woolworthsgroup.com.au/icms_docs/185865_annual-report-2016.pdf [Accessed on: 26/04/17] Woolworths Group. (2017a) Contact Information. [Online] Woolworths Group. Available from: https://www.woolworthsgroup.com.au/page/contact-us/contact-information [Accessed on: 26/04/17] Woolworths Group. (2017b) Woolworths Supermarkets. [Online] Woolworths Group. Available from: https://www.woolworthsgroup.com.au/page/about-us/our-brands/supermarkets/Woolworths [Accessed on: 26/04/17] Woolworths Group. (2017c) Corporate governance. [Online] Woolworths Group. Available from: https://www.woolworthsgroup.com.au/page/about-us/our-approach/corporate-governance [Accessed on: 26/04/17] Woolworths Group. (2017d) Environment and sustainability. [Online] Woolworths Group. Available from: https://www.woolworthsgroup.com.au/page/community-and-responsibility/group-responsibility/environment/ [Accessed on: 26/04/17]