Role and Functions of Law

Law plays an imperative role in governing society as well as businesses operating within society. If laws governing the actions of individuals, groups, organizations, or businesses did not exist, society would not be able to effectively function without the structure that laws provide and it is also highly likely that commerce would ultimately fail without laws governing how companies conduct business. There are several types of laws that created for the purpose of regulating social behavior such as criminal law, civil law, constitutional law, administrative law, and international law (Quizlet, LLC, 2014). There are also laws that dictate Laws that govern what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior or action within business organizations. Laws that regulate business practices are most commonly fall under Congress’s broadest principle power, derived from the Commerce Clause, whereby Congress is given the power to “regulate Commerce among the several states” (Melvin, 2011, Commerce Powers).

There are a number of different ways Congress applies its commerce powers. However, the simplest way to describe Congress’s commerce power is that it regulates “all persons and products related to the flow of interstate commerce” (Melvin, 2011, Application of Commerce Powers). Interstate commerce refers to passages of interstate commerce, such as railways, highways, and even skyways. Congress is responsible for regulating vessels in which interstate articles travel in addition to the articles being transported. At times there might be confusion as to whether Congress has the authority to intervene with what might appear to be “intrastate” commercial activity. Intrastate activity refers to activity that occurs within a particular state’s borders. In many cases, Congress does not have the authority to interfere with intrastate commerce. However, it is very rare in this day and age that intrastate commerce does not involve interstate commerce in some manner. Even if a company conducts business only in one state, it is likely that there is still some level of interstate commerce involved. For example, certain equipment used for the business likely came from a different state or country. The same example could be applied to little things, such as office supplies used by the business. When it comes to business