University of Essex

LW663-7-AU-CO:
Contemporary Issues in Commercial and Business Law

The details

Year: 2024/25

Department: Essex Law School

Campus: Colchester Campus

Term: Autumn

Level: Postgraduate: Level 7

Status: Current

Start date: Thursday 03 October 2024

End date: Friday 13 December 2024

Credits: 15

Last updated: 23 September 2024

Requisites for this module

Pre-requisites: (none)

Co-requisites: (none)

Pre and / or co-requisites: (none)

Prohibited modules: (none)

Key module (requisite for): (none)

Key module for

LLM M2M212 International Commercial and Business Law,
LLM M2M224 International Commercial and Business Law,
LLM M2M2JS International Commercial and Business Law,
LLM M2M2PP International Commercial and Business Law with Professional Placement

Module description

This module aims to apply the comparative and case study methodologies to examine the national and global legal, philosophical, historical and socio-political contexts of business law and commercial relationships and transactions.

Module aims

The aim of the module is to apply the case study and comparative methodologies to introduce students to the theories, concepts and models that underpin commercial practice and business law and regulation, and to enable students to describe and discuss the legal, practical and global contexts in which they operate. This module aims to provide students with intellectual knowledge and the conceptual and practical skills necessary to understand the role of public and private regulation of business relationships and commercial transactions, and to equip students with effective independent research, communication and interpersonal skills for study and employment. The module is aimed at equipping students with research methodological skills for commercial and business law and to address challenges technology, innovation in products, services and transactions may pose to commercial and business law. It is designed to enable students to identify, evaluate and undertake further independent research on commercial and business issues. It also aims to contribute to and improve students’ decision making and risk management at different organisational levels.

Module learning outcomes

The learning outcomes for the module are to:
1. Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the theories, sources, models and roles of commercial and business law, and be able to describe and discuss the legal, practical and business context in which they operate, including their benefits and challenges;
2. Apply case study and comparative methodologies to demonstrate understanding of the historical, institutional, technological and other context for commercial and business law and regulatory approaches to business relationships and commercial transactions;
3. Demonstrate critical awareness of relevant issues and identify and explain key legislations, cases, texts and procedures on commercial and business law and evaluate critically the law in this field on pragmatic, commercial, moral, policy and/or other grounds;
4. Read legislation and case law and apply them critically to specific legal, business and other situations;
5. Identify and evaluate critically large and complex amounts of legal data from more than one source or jurisdiction;
6. Evaluate the business environment, and critically analyse and apply legal data to specific facts and deduce likely outcomes where law is indeterminate;
7. Demonstrate independent legal research and study skills, including multi-disciplinary research and use of library-based resources; and
8. Identify, select and organise materials and produce coherent and convincing arguments and demonstrate critical thinking and effective and persuasive oral and written communication skills.

Module information

Teaching:

Part A

Week 2
Introduction to Module and Commercial and Business Law
Research Methodologies in Commercial and Business Law

Week 3
Business Forms and Commercial Relationships

Week 4
Business, Institutions and Globalisation

Week 5
Commercial and Business Regulation

Week 6
Case Study – Branding and Corporate Identity

Part B

Week 7
Traditional Challenges for Commercial and Business Law- Certainty and Protection of Weaker Parties
Traditional and Digital Business Forms and Transactions
Standard setting in relation to Product and Services (conformity standards and remedies)

Week 8
Challenges to Commercial and Business Law in relation to Digitalisation and Innovation
(1)- New national, European and International Trade models; setting standards to deal with these (information, cancellation, conformity standards and remedies)

Week 9
Challenges to Commercial and Business Law in relation to Digitalisation and Innovation
(2) – democratisation of production and selling, hobbyists, platforms and challenges for Traditional Liability Structures and Agency principles

Week 10
Case Study

Week 11
Revision/Reading Week

Learning and teaching methods

This module is taught via weekly seminars. In the seminars, students are encouraged to learn from each other as well as from the tutor and to present what they have done orally in a suitably confident and coherent manner. Students will be expected to work independently and as a group.

Bibliography

Siems, M.M. (2009) ‘The Taxonomy of Interdisciplinary Legal Research: Finding the Way out of the Desert’, Journal of Commonwealth Law and Legal Education, 7(1), pp. 5–17. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/14760400903195090.
McConville, M. and Chui, W.H. (eds) (2017) Research methods for law. Second edition. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Available at: https://app.kortext.com/Shibboleth.sso/Login?entityID=https://idp0.essex.ac.uk/shibboleth&target=https://app.kortext.com/borrow/297484.
Potter, S. and Open University (2006) Doing postgraduate research. 2nd ed. Milton Keynes, U.K.: Open University in association with SAGE Publications. Available at: https://search-ebscohost-com.uniessexlib.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=251689.
Alan Dignam and John Lowry (2022) Company Law. 12th ed. Oxford University Press. Available at: https://app.kortext.com/Shibboleth.sso/Login?entityID=https://idp0.essex.ac.uk/shibboleth&target=https://app.kortext.com/borrow/2011475.
Joel Bakan (2005) The corporation: the pathological pursuit of profit and power. London: Constable. Available at: https://app.kortext.com/Shibboleth.sso/Login?entityID=https://idp0.essex.ac.uk/shibboleth&target=https://app.kortext.com/borrow/607073.
Marx, K. (no date) Economic Manuscripts: Capital Vol. I - Chapter Four. Available at: https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/ch04.htm.
Schumpeter, J.A., Stiglitz, J.E., and EBSCOhost ebook collection (2010) Capitalism, socialism and democracy. London: Routledge. Available at: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=316553.
Ireland, P. (1996) ‘Capitalism without the capitalist: The joint stock company share and the emergence of the modern doctrine of separate corporate personality’, The Journal of Legal History, 17(1), pp. 41–73. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/01440369608531144.
Ingham, G.K. (2008) Capitalism. Cambridge: Polity. Available at: https://app.kortext.com/Shibboleth.sso/Login?entityID=https://idp0.essex.ac.uk/shibboleth&target=https://app.kortext.com/borrow/2031099.
Muchlinski, P. and Rogge, E. (2021) Multinational enterprises and the law. Third edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/law/9780198824138.001.0001.
Friedman, M. (2010b) ‘The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits’, in W.C. Zimmerli, M. Holzinger, and K. Richter (eds) Corporate Ethics and Corporate Governance. Berlin: Springer, pp. 173–178. Available at: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-540-70818-6_14.
Baumann-Pauly, D. and Trabelsi, L. (2021) ‘The Business Case for Human Rights’, in I. Bantekas and M.A. Stein (eds) The Cambridge Companion to Business and Human Rights Law. Cambridge University Press, pp. 115–144. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108907293.007.
Wettstein, F. (2020) ‘The history of business and human rights and its relationship with corporate social responsibility’, in S. Deva and D. Birchall (eds) Research Handbook on Human Rights and Business. Edward Elgar Publishing. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781786436405.00007.
Muchlinski, P. (2021) ‘The Regulatory Framework of Multinational Enterprises’, in I. Bantekas and M.A. Stein (eds) The Cambridge Companion to Business and Human Rights Law. Cambridge University Press, pp. 173–194. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108907293.009.
Flora Gill (2023) Work and Social Justice. Policy Press. Available at: https://app.kortext.com/Shibboleth.sso/Login?entityID=https://idp0.essex.ac.uk/shibboleth&target=https://app.kortext.com/borrow/2397943.
Anderson, E. and Macedo, S. (2017) Private government: how employers rule our lives (and why we don’t talk about it). Princeton: Princeton University Press.
F. A. Hayek (2012) Law Legislation and Liberty. Taylor & Francis Group. Available at: https://app.kortext.com/Shibboleth.sso/Login?entityID=https://idp0.essex.ac.uk/shibboleth&target=https://app.kortext.com/borrow/1177182.
Harvey, D. (2007b) A brief history of neoliberalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Available at: https://search-ebscohost-com.uniessexlib.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=192206.
McGoey, L. (2019) The unknowers: how strategic ignorance rules the world. London: Zed Books. Available at: https://www-bloomsburycollections-com.uniessexlib.idm.oclc.org/monograph?docid=b-9781350225725.
Pistor, K. (2020) The code of capital: how the law creates wealth and inequality. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Available at: https://search-ebscohost-com.uniessexlib.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=1941224.
Craven, R. (5321) ‘Socio-legal Studies and Economics’, in Routledge Handbook of Socio-Legal Theory and Methods. Routledge, pp. 172–192. Available at: https://essex.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma991008074689707346&context=L&vid=44UOES_INST:UOES&lang=en&search_scope=MyInstitution&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=LibraryCatalog&query=title,contains,Routledge%20Handbook%20of%20Socio-Legal%20Theory%20and%20Methods,AND&mode=advanced&offset=0.
Paddy Ireland (2024) Property in Contemporary Capitalism. Bristol University Press. Available at: https://www-degruyter-com.uniessexlib.idm.oclc.org/document/doi/10.56687/9781529235807/html.
Kay, J. (1997) ‘The Stakeholder Corporation’, in Stakeholder capitalism. Basingstoke: Macmillan Press, pp. 125–141.

The above list is indicative of the essential reading for the course.
The library makes provision for all reading list items, with digital provision where possible, and these resources are shared between students.
Further reading can be obtained from this module's reading list.

Assessment items, weightings and deadlines

Coursework / exam	Description	Deadline	Coursework weighting
Coursework	LW663-7-AU Summative Essay (Contemporary Issues in Commercial and Business Law)	10/01/2025	100%

Exam format definitions

Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary, for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.

Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.

Overall assessment

Coursework	Exam
100%	0%

Reassessment

Coursework	Exam
100%	0%

Module supervisor and teaching staff

Supervisor: Prof Christopher Willett, email: cwillett@essex.ac.uk.

Teaching staff:

Contact details: The Law Education Admin Team - pgtlawqueries@essex.ac.uk

Availability

Available to incoming Essex Abroad / Exchange students: No

Available to Outside Option: No

Available to Audit: Yes

External examiner

Name: Dr Emilie Ghio

Institution: University of Edinburgh

Academic role: Lecturer in Law

Resources

Teaching materials: Available via Moodle

Lecture recording: Of 18 hours, 18 (100%) hours available to students:
0 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s), module, or event type.

Further information

Department website: Essex Law School

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The full Procedures, Rules and Regulations of the University governing how it operates are set out in the Charter, Statutes and Ordinances and in the University Regulations, Policy and Procedures.

Module Directory

LW663-7-AU-CO:Contemporary Issues in Commercial and Business Law