Gubengi is a State on the coast of the north western corner of Africa. In 1762 Gubengi was invaded by France who established a trading outpost for ships sailing to the Americas. Between 1762 and 1857 the French imposed their legal system, their laws and the French system of government on the people of Gubengi. In 1857 the French government decided to consolidate their interest in Africa. Consequently, the French appointed the ruler of the Mashontis, a local tribe, as the head of Gubengi and transferred all judicial and political power to him. The French then withdraw all their interests and ties with Gubengi. The current leader attempted to regain the values and way of life which had been decimated as a result of almost 100 years of French rule. The Gubengians developed a strong sense of national identity and pride but were unable to implement any judicial, legal or political superstructure that was left to them by the French. This resulted in the citizens of Gubengi migrating into different tribes throughout the country with each tribe having an elected leader. In this capacity, Gubengi functioned primarily as a self sufficient and stable agrarian country albeit a very poor and underdeveloped one. In 1947, the then Soviet Union, seized the opportunity to give financial assistance to Gubengi in return for utilising the country as a sphere of influence. In order to facilitate this, the Kremlin appointed the leader of the Bakanis, another local tribe who had grown to prominence over the last couple of decades. This caused friction with the Mashontis who believed they were the rightful leaders of Gubengi. The Soviet Union maintained its influence and support for the Bakanis until the end of the cold war. In 1991 the Soviet Union withdrew from Gubengi and severed all relations and ties with the country. Following the Soviet withdrawal the country was thrust into a civil war. The Mashontis and Bukanis fought for control and armed themselves with weapons left by the Soviets. They plundered the country and killed anyone who did not support them. By 2000 the country was ravaged by war and in economic and political ruin. In 2001, the USA feared that the north Western corner of Africa may develop into a region of hostile intent towards the USA. The USA, together with delegates from the United Nations, went to Gubengi in order to implement a cease fire and to create an infrastructure of stability and democracy. By the end of 2001, the objectives had been met. In March of 2003, Gubengi held democratic elections and implemented a constitution together with a bill of rights. In addition the government of Gubengi has implemented a process of international trade which embraces multilateral trading. Both the USA and EU have hinted that the development of Gubengi and countries like it, is one their international priorities. In light of this the USA and EU have recommended that Gubengi become members of the WTO.

Gubengi is now approaching its 10th anniversary of democracy and despite the fact that it has begun to develop robust industries is seeking consolidation on the following matters:

1. A significant consequence of the culmination of both French and Russian
colonial rule is the fact that no coherent system of labour relations or
regulation was ever developed. This process has culminated in the
excessive use of cheap labour involving primarily women and children.
To complicate the matter, organised criminal gangs have taken responsibility of ensuring that there is a constant flow of cheap labour and this often involves transportation of women and children from other countries to Gubengi.

2. Another significant factor that has materialised is the fact that the
working conditions of the factories in Gubengi have been adjudicated as
operating below the legal standards of acceptability in jurisdictions such
as the EU and USA. Factors such as hours of work, leave, entitlement to
breaks, pay and safety conditions have been identified as possibly
violating the human rights of the respective employees.

3. Finally, Gubengi has been identified by the International Environment
Agency as having no regulation of any C02, toxins and other identifiable
pollutants that are released into the atmosphere. Although there is no
actual evidence to suggest the Gubengi is a major contributor to global
warming the significant disregard for any regulation is of major concern
to the international community.

The department for International Development in the State of Gubengi wins a bid to contract with you to write a report on the above matters explaining what alternatives would be available to the government of Gubengi to control and regulate the above 3 concerns.

Oral Presentation

As part of Gubengi’s drive to development, the following facts emerge:

World Commerce Operations (WCO) is a multinational company that is incorporated in USA and has a number of subsidiary companies in Matune. As part of the current strategic business plan of the company, the directors of the company wish to expand operations into the Pacific Rim by using their factories in Gubengi to produce the products for sale in the Pacific Rim. WCO would like to enter into a number of international business transactions.

1. First, WCO wishes to sell 1,000,000 hard-disk drives to a Chinese manufacturer and a Filipino manufacturer of videogame consoles, EnterLight Ltd and NeoTech Ltd respectively. The directors of the company are not certain as to whether they should dispatch the goods on CIF or FOB terms but they are aware that China, where EnterLight Ltd operate, can currently deal with Euros and dollars. Nonetheless, in the Philippines, due to a recent government’s change in monetary policy, NeoTech can only deal with Pesos, the local currency of the Philippines.
2. Furthermore, WCO agreed with a Thai buyer for the dispatch of 2,000 cars under FOB terms. WCO instructed an English freight company, Portsmouth World Transporters (PWT) to load the goods onto the ships. While PWT’s employees were loading the ship using cranes, some 10 cars fell to the sea and were completely destroyed.
3. Finally, WCO agreed with a Japanese company, Tottori Restaurants Ltd, for the dispatch of 2,000 tonnes of fish from the port of Edinburgh, Scotland to the port of Niigata, Japan. The captain of one of WCO’s ships, which was to carry the fish, the Argo, failed to inspect the goods on departure from Edinburgh, even though one could tell that the fish was smelly and in bad condition. Despite this, he issued a Bill of Lading
stating: ‘IN APPARENT GOOD ORDER AND CONDITION’, even
though it was clear that the fish was contaminated.
prepare a 10 minute (each) presentation explaining the applicability of CISG and other International Business requirements to the above transactions.