Module Information
Course Delivery
| Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
|---|---|
| Seminar | 11 x 2 Hour Seminars |
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT OF 5,000-6,000 WORDS | 80% |
| Semester Assessment | ORAL PRESENTATION | 20% |
| Supplementary Assessment | WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT OF 5,000-6,000 WORDS TO BE RESUBMITTED, IF FAILED | 80% |
| Supplementary Assessment | ORAL PRESENTATION OR WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT IN LIEU OF ORAL PRESENTATION TO BE SUBMITTED, IF FAILED | 20% |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this module:
1. Students should be able to demonstrate an understanding of the legal framework governing regulatory competence in respect of both private/civil and public/criminal matters;
2. Students should be able to identify and explain the competing interests which rules on regulatory competence seek to balance;
3. Students should be able to critically analyze, by reference to specific rules in private and public law, how effectively they in fact accommodate these competing interests;
4. Students should be able to explain potential solutions to the shortcomings of current competence rules and the legal and political hindrances such solutions would have to overcome.
Brief description
The notion of the global village has nowhere greater validity than in the context of commerce and modern information technology, both of which form an essential part of life especially in Western democracies. While commerce and information technology effortlessly transcend national boundaries, the law has remained largely a national creature. This module examines to what extent current national law is equipped to deal with transnational commerce and with global communications generally and what adjustments, if any, have been, or should be, made to align the law and regulation with 21st century commercial realities. More specifically, this module examines the rules on regulatory competence both in respect of private/civil disputes and public/criminal prosecution and the extent to which these rules facilitate the efficient and fair application of national law to transnational commercial activity.
Content
1. Global commerce versus national law
2. Overview of regulatory competence in private and public law
Private Law
3. Jurisdiction in contract
4. Jurisdiction in non-contractual cases
5. Choice of law
6. Transnational litigation
7. Harmonization and transnational cooperation: enforcement of foreign judgments
8. Arbitration
Public Law
9. The extra-territorial application of US anti-trust law and the Alien Tort Statute
10. Harmonization and transnational cooperation in relation to criminal law
Aims
While some existing LLM modules touch upon the rules of regulatory competence in respect of global commercial activity, in this module these rules are moved centre-stage. In doing so, this module will provide students with a comprehensive framework for regulatory competence within which they can locate the rules applying to specific scenarios. This module will also enable students to understand the generic themes and problems underlying various competence rules, which the isolated discussion of these rules in other modules cannot adequately reveal. Last but not least, this module is designed to highlight the problems and solutions arising out of any attempt to apply national law to transnational disputes.
Transferable skills
Throughout the module, students will practise and develop their skills of research, analysis, time-management, oral and written presentation. In seminars they will develop their ability to listen, understand and explain subject related topics as well as present a point of view orally and discuss their thoughts with the rest of the class; their assignments will enable them to develop their skills of independent research, analysis, presentation and writing (including data collection and retrieval, IT and time management). All learning throughout the module will be relevant to a career in any legal profession.
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 7