This module aims to familiarise students with the area of business law and to promote in them a critical awareness of the role of the law in regulating the conduct and effects of business transactions. The areas that students will engage with are the following

-       The significance of and the principles of the law of agency in commercial law.

-       The policies behind legal rules governing the sale of goods.

-       The particularities of export trade and standard trade terms (CIF, FOB, FAS).

-       The negative impact of corruption in commercial transactions and the anti-corruption legal framework

-       Legal issues relating to e-commerce.

 On successful completion of the module students should be able to: 
 

-       Explain the significance of the role of agency in commerce and demonstrate an understanding of the rights and duties of principals and agents.

-       Demonstrate a critical understanding of the rules, both national and international, relating to the supply of goods and services and the policies behind them.

-       Demonstrate an awareness of the distinctions between sale contracts in the ‘real world’ and the virtual world of e-commerce.

-       Demonstrate a critical understanding of the issues surrounding corruption in the commercial world and a thorough knowledge of legal and non-legal strategies in fighting corruption.

-       Apply the knowledge acquired in solving problems reflecting actual commercial situations. 

-     Sources of commercial law: national, international and transnational

-     Agency: authority of agents actual, usual and apparent authority

-     Rights and duties of agents including termination of agency

-     The law relating to the sale of goods: the terms implied by the Sale of Goods Act (SOGA) 1979.

-     Passing of  property and risk - ss 16 – 20B SOGA 1979

-     Sales by non-owners: the doctrine of nemo dat quod non habet and exceptions: ss 21 – 25. SOGA 1979

-     Performance of the contract: ss 27 – 37 SOGA 1979

-     Remedies of the unpaid seller against the goods: ss 38 – 48 SOGA 1979

-     Remedies for breach of contract for buyer and seller: ss 49 – 55 SOGA 1979

-     Export sale contracts and trade terms (CIF, FOB, FAS); the proper law of the contract and jurisdiction in respect of disputes;

-     The Vienna Convention on the International Sale of Goods

-     The UNIDROIT Principles on International Commercial Contracts

-     Electronic Commerce and legal issues, the Electronic Communications Act 2000.

-     Corruption, trade and anti-corruption strategies, the UN Convention Against Corruption 2003, OECD Convention in Combating of Foreign Public Official in International Business Transactions 1997.

 One 2 hour lecture (weekly) plus one 1 hour tutorial (fortnightly). Lectures and tutorials supported by handbook and specimen questions.

The lectures will provide an overview of the topics to enable the students to understand the essential principles of each topic and their commercial significance. The lectures and lecture outlines introduce students to cases and texts to enable them to deepen their knowledge of the topics.  Some topics will be treated in more depth than others and this will be reflected in the subject weighting in the examination.

The tutorials are intended to be occasions when students can demonstrate their knowledge and ability to apply it to tutorial questions set prior to the tutorial.  The tutorials are designed to be student-led.

The teaching and learning strategy is designed to stimulate private study using primary and secondary sources, both paper-based and electronic.  The aim of the strategy is to develop an understanding and critical awareness of the essential principles and underlying policies of commercial law at both  national and international level.