Public and private law

Public and private law

Public and private law has for many years remained to be an important branch of law that highlights the relationship between different parties and agencies. Public law refers to the relationship between the government and individuals, and it is an area of law that remains to be significant because of the unequal relationship between the public and the government. Private law, on the other hand, is an essential branch of law that governs the relationship among persons in a legal system, including corporations. A clear review, therefore, shows that this is a type of law that governs the relationship between government and individuals (Rosenfeld, 2013). While common examples of private law can be found in organizations and employment, for public law, it involves circumstances involving public bodies. Private law is seemingly divided into subdivisions and such as contract law, the law of torts, property law and family, which will be highlighted in this paper. Public law, on the other hand, is divide into administrative law, constitutional laws, international law and constitutional law.

Aspects of public law

Administrative law refers to the legal system in which public administration is conducted, and in most instances, it is the body of law created by government departments and agencies to carry out laws passed by a state legislature. Some of the major categories of administrative law include administrative decisions and rules and regulations with both decisions being made by commissions or government agencies which obtain their authority from a state or Congress legislature. A generic example of administrative decisions includes the provision to allow disabled individuals to receive assistance from the government. Another generic example concerning rules and regulations is the implementation of state and federal laws affecting almost every industry (Wagner, 2010). Administrative law also plays a critical role in regulating and making decisions concerning food safety and sustainability. In this regard, the department of agriculture and other administrative bodies like The Food Safety and Inspection Service create and enforce issues of food safety and sustainability. A clear example concerning the impact of administrative law on food safety is how the department of agriculture ensures the supply of poultry, processed eggs and meat is safe and correctly packed and labelled.

Constitutional law, on the other hand, is a significant branch of public law that generally deals with the interpretation of the constitution. The law specifically deals with the basic relationship between the different entities in our society. Such relationships include those between the federal government and the states, individuals and states, foreign nations and the federal government, and individuals and the federal government (Chemerinsky, 2019). Some of the major categories of constitutional law include civil liberties and human rights, legislative powers, and the rule of law. Some of the generic examples of civil liberties and human rights is giving people the natural rights and freedoms. Example of legislative procedures, on the other hand, involves the amending of the constitution while an example of the rule of law is how laws are enacted and enforced that should be understandable, clear and open to the public. Constitutional law, on the other hand, is significant towards regulating the food industry, which mostly happens through implementing natural human rights like the right to safe food overseen by the department of agriculture.

Contract law seemingly remains to be an essential part of the public, and it is referred to an aspect of the law that oversees an agreement between two or more parties to perform a service, commit to an act or provide a product. Some of the significant categories of contract law include contract under Seal, Express Contracts, and Implied Contracts (McKendrick, 2014). Example of a contract under seal is when a document is sealed after being stamped a case that majorly happens in banking halls. An example of an express contract, on the other hand, involves a case where a contract is formed where terms are stated either orally or in writing. An example of implied contracts includes cases where there is an offer and acceptance. Contract law is also key area of law that contributes to food safety and sustainability. Such context is evident from the fact that when a guest orders a specific type of dish, it is assumed that the recipe will be cooked and served according to the preference of the guest and the guest seemingly has the very intention of making payment for the meal.

International law as a subdivision of public law is a collection of laws that are accepted as governing the relations between states. Some of the major categories of international law include private international law, supranational law, and public international law (Burley, 2017). An example of private international law is applicable in a context where a company operating in both Canada and U.S experience a form of dispute, therefore, private international law comes in hand to determine which country has the jurisdiction concerning the dispute. A generic example of supranational law, seemingly includes the context of an international body like the European Union that entirely deals with international treaties and as a result uses the supranational legal system. International law seemingly contributes to the issue of food safety and sustainability from the perspective that it protects business relation between two food companies located in different countries.

Private law

Contact law can seemingly be categorized as private to even much extent as compared to public law. Much of the argument is based on the fact that contract law is about a private agreement between individuals. Some of the major categories include validity, execution, nature of consideration, formation (McKendrick, 2014). An example of a generic example on contracts on the basis of formation consists of those contract where both parties intend agreement, but not orally. On the other hand, an example of contracts on the basis of execution involves the right to one party in the future get into a second contract with other parties. Example of validity contract, on the other hand, is the fact that a contract can become void when there are no proper legal components. Food safety, on the other hand, faces significant impact from contract law from the perspective that any form of contract especially in foodservice delivery should be certain, meets the capacity of parties, and fulfilment of formalities.

Property law as a subdivision of private law is majorly concerned with policies, principles and rules by which disputes over property transactions may be structured. Some of the significant categories of property law include real property and personal property. Generic examples of personal property include vehicles, clothing and livestock (Singer & Berger,2014). While on the other hand, real property includes the land and the minerals to the soil. Property law, on the other hand, applies to food sustainability and through proper regulation of food production and there is good lias with the agriculture department.

Torts law as a significant subdivision of private law is the kind of law that determines whether an individual should be held legally accountable for any injury against another. The law further determines what type of compensation is entitled to the injured party (Razman et al., 2014). Some of the major categories of tort law include intentional torts, strict liability and negligence. Examples of intentional tort include an assault, false imprisonment, battery, fraud, defamation and trespass. Negligence is a major category of tort law incorporates contexts such as car accidents, slip and fall accident, pedestrian accidents, medical malpractice and bicycle accidents. An example of a generic example for strict liability includes defective products, abnormally dangerous activities, and animal attacks. Food safety remains to be a significant aspect as depicted by the law of torts, especially when developing strict liability torts concerning product liability or defective products which clearly applies in the food industry.

Family law which is also an essential area of private law is majorly concerned with the relations among members of the family, and some of the major categories include divorce, spousal support, child support, and adoption. An example of divorce is through moving towards the legal means to end the marriage. At the same time, an instance of spousal support involves providing financial support to one spouse after separation. Also, an example of child support include paying money to care for the minor, while an example of adoption involves gaining the legal rights of a parent to a child. In contrast to other forms of law, family law does not offer any regulation to food safety, considering that it fully focuses on relations among family members, and there are no regulations whatsoever concerning food.

Law case

Background

Background

The 2008-2009 Salmonella outbreak linked to processed peanuts resulted in one of the largest food recalls in the history of the United States. According to an April 2009 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 714 cases were linked to Salmonella Typhimurium. Reports also show that there were about nine deaths due to the outbreak (Leighton, 2016). According to the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA), two peanut-processing plants were the source of contamination with the firms allegedly being owned by Peanut Corporation of America.

Economics impact

The economic impact is also an area that could not go unnoticed especially after direct costs from the recalls were majorly felt by manufacturers of processed foods rather than the manufacturers who are directly associated with the peanut industry. Other economic reports also showed that U.S peanut supplies were somehow unaffected because recalled products composed of less than 2% of the supply of peanuts (Leighton, 2016). Same reports also show that sales of almost all products containing peanuts temporarily declined as consumers waited for the identification of potentially harmful products.

Legal consideration

The case of the salmonella outbreak that killed nine was a subject o court ruling where summary judgment was given regarding negligence by the two peanut companies (Wittenberger, 2010). The judge passed a 28 year imprisonment to the 61-year-old Parnell who was the former peanut butter company owner.