LAWCOMM 731 : Special Topic: Commercial Law in Asia

Law

2024 Semester One (1243) (30 POINTS)

Course Prescription

No prescription

Course Overview

This course provides students with an opportunity to critically examine commercial law in an Asian context. Although parallels can be drawn between Asian jurisdictions in terms of their economic and legal development, their commercial law systems are too diverse to be treated uniformly. Instead, the principal objective of this course is to cultivate a set of analytical toolkits for understanding and evaluating commercial law in Asia. This is achieved through focused analysis of selected legal and practical issues from comparative and economic perspectives.
In order to facilitate comparative analysis both across and within the common law and civil law traditions, this subject will focus on commercial law in the four jurisdictions of China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan. Basic economic principles will be introduced and utilised to evaluate the efficacy of the respective legal rules, while comparative methodology will be employed to provide contextual appreciation of the socio-economic factors driving legal development. Covered topics will include contract, business associations, corporate finance, and taxation. The subject will be of interest to those interested in doing business in Asia.

The lecturer for the course is Dr Jianlin Chen who is Professor and Associate Dean (International) at the University of Melbourne Law School. Utilising a combination of comparative perspectives and economic analysis, Jianlin publishes widely across both public and private law, including the various intersections of law and business/economic activities. He specialises in teaching Commercial Law in Asia, and is regularly engaged by various law schools in Asia-Pacific to teach the subject.

Course Requirements

No pre-requisites or restrictions

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 3: Knowledge and Practice
Capability 4: Critical Thinking
Capability 5: Solution Seeking
Capability 6: Communication
Graduate Profile: Master of Laws

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Identify the relevant statutes, regulations and cases with an advanced and practical understanding of the legal principles governing the selected aspects of Asian commercial law. (Capability 3.1)
  2. Comparatively analyse the similarities and differences among selected aspects of Asian commercial law with a nuanced appreciation on the social, political and economic factors shaping these legal rules. (Capability 3.1 and 4.1)
  3. Critically evaluate the effectiveness of selected aspects of Asian commercial laws from the economic perspective. (Capability 4.1)
  4. Contribute to the debate regarding the appropriate and feasible reforms on the selected aspects of Asian commercial law. (Capability 5.1 and 6.1)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Class participation 10% Group & Individual Coursework
Research essay outline 10% Individual Coursework
Research essay 80% Individual Coursework
Assessment Type Learning Outcome Addressed
1 2 3 4
Class participation
Research essay outline
Research essay
Class participation will include seminar discussions and presenting their (tentative) research question and main thesis to the group (5 minutes). 

Workload Expectations

This is an intensive 30-point course taught over five working days. There will be around 40 hours of lectures/seminars in this course. As a general guide you should expect a workload of four hours outside of the classroom for each hour spent in class. The guideline for the total workload for this course is 300 hours. 

Delivery Mode

Campus Experience

Attendance is expected at the seminar component of the course. Because the course is designed to be participatory, it depends upon students being personally present and contributing. Lectures will be available as recordings, seminars may not be.  Moreover, lectures will include learning activities that may not be picked up on recordings. 

Learning Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

Student feedback has been incorporated.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed for potential plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct, using computerised detection mechanisms.

Class Representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course director, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a Student Academic and Support Adviser as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course students may be asked to submit coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.

Published on 01/11/2023 02:25 p.m.