• Commercial Contracts

  On this module you will study the law governing commercial contracts in their business context, including aspects of contract law, personal property law (and the role of equity), and commercial law. You will analyse basic economics of markets (although no previous knowledge of economics will be needed) and develop your critical understanding of key theoretical concepts through their application in practical scenarios. You will also use comparative law method to look at transnational law, establishing and critically evaluating the differences in rules that govern commercial contracts in English law, other national laws and international instruments. In particular, you will examine how commercial contracts differ from non-commercial contracts; the formation and interpretation of commercial contracts; and pre-contractual duties, agreed obligations and remedies. You will explore this through two important types of contract in international commercial practice: a contract of sale and assignment of receivables (assignment of obligations, assignment of contracts), although the former will be treated as the paradigm of a commercial contract.

• Law in the Global Context

  This module will help you transition from Undergraduate to Masters level study by brushing up on the skills you need as a postgraduate student (effective use of electronic databases, academic writing and referencing) and providing an analytical framework for international trade law that transcends particular jurisdictions to focus on the context in which international business takes place. You’ll examine the need for regulation or international trade and the development of legal frameworks, including organisations like the WTO and the EU, and be expected to demonstrate a systematic and critical awareness of the interrelation of law and business in a global context, as well as advanced scholarship in international trade and business. You’ll be assessed through a group presentation, in which you’ll individually present findings resulting from your personal research. This presentation will be accompanied by a written assignment that will include referencing correctly presented using OSCOLA.

• Legal Research Methods

  This module will give you a critical understanding of research skills, methods and methodology, including surveys, questionnaires, statistical analysis, and interviews, in addition to bibliographical research methods in law. It will also provide you with an understanding of web learning and the ability to access materials both through the University library and from other sources. Most importantly, you will learn to critically examine alternative research methods and evaluate their effectiveness in the study of International Business Law. Further still, you will have the chance to discuss learning and teaching styles, academic expectations and learning strategies. You will be taught through seminars, library sessions and E-learning, giving you a grounding in the various possible research methods. Your assessment will comprise both a presentation and coursework.

• International Commercial Arbitration

  On this module you will engage in an examination and critical reflection of the choices businesses must make about the available methods of resolving commercial disputes in a globalised world. You will examine methods of alternative dispute resolution together with substantive and procedural aspects of business litigation in the worldwide context. You will also examine the availability and desirability of forum selection as well as the practical and procedural differences between litigation processes within a range of selected forums, allowing you to critically analyse: different approaches to funding commercial litigation; practical considerations relating to choice of forum; the availability and effectiveness of selected interim remedies (such as worldwide freezing injunctions); and the practical difficulties of reciprocal enforcement of judgements throughout the world. You will combine theory and practical application relevant to international legal practice and business and, together with other students, engage in role-play within alternative dispute resolution scenarios, developing and enhancing your teamwork, negotiation and strategic-thinking employability skills. Your assessment will comprise a piece of individual written work (3,000 words) on a dispute resolution topic.

• Transnational Commercial Law

  As international commerce has developed, more international efforts have increasingly been made towards harmonising the law relating to international commerce. This is done in the belief that harmonisation is more beneficial than reliance on a single national law. Consequently, a number of different types of international instruments have developed, comprising conventions, model laws, legislative guides, codifications of trade usages and practices and restatements of law governing different aspects of international commercial law and practice. This module will develop your understanding of what drives international commercial law and the reasons for harmonisation. You will examine institutions involved in the harmonisation process, as well as the scope of the harmonisation processes and the major problems and policy issues that must be confronted. You will critically evaluate the success of key international instruments, which you may already have studied in other modules (for example the Vienna Sales Convention), and examine them from a perspective of the need, purpose and success or failure of harmonisation of international commercial law. Your assessment will consist of a 6,000-word essay.

• Major Research Project (LLMs)

  This module will support you in the preparation and submission of the Master’s stage project for the LLM International Business Law, LLM International Commercial Law and LLM Digital Economy. You will be assessed through a maximum 15,000-word final thesis.

Optional modules

• Corporate Governance

  This module will introduce you to the political, economic, cultural, social and legal mechanisms that govern the activities of corporations. You will engage in an examination and critical evaluation of corporate governance in a global context, examining its underpinning theories as well as the development and regulation of international governance. Contrasting these with recent business scandals and the different intercultural responses to them, you will also consider the nature, scope and effect of corporate social responsibilities, including environmental. You will learn to resolve ethical problems in the context of governance theory and apply theory to problem-based scenarios, considering the appropriateness of these theories in a business context, as well as undertaking a comparative analysis of approaches being adopted in a number of jurisdictions and reflecting the main schools of thought on corporate governance. Your assessment will comprise written coursework (4,800 words) and a group presentation.

• Comparative Company Law

  This module will give you an integrated view of the role and structure of corporate law, which provides a clear framework for individual systems both on their own and in relation to each other. You will be introduced to the theory of corporate law, focusing on the main ‚players’ in the corporate arena (such as the directors, shareholders, creditors and employees) and how company law can best accommodate their sometimes conflicting interests. You will also discover the main arguments for and against state intervention in what are primarily private transactions. Focusing on the theoretical aspects of corporate law, you will consider the problems and legal strategies common to each of the identified jurisdictions, particularly the five basic characteristics of business corporations: legal personality; limited liability; corporate governance/shareholder protection; management of companies; investor ownership. Your assessment will comprise an individual presentation plus written coursework.