Module LAW2321: FINANCIAL LAW

Department: Law

LAW2321: FINANCIAL LAW

Prerequisites

• Introduction to English Law and Legal Method (LAW 1121); Contract Law (LAW1071); Tort Law (LAW1051)

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To introduce students to the structure and functioning of financial systems, including actors, regulators, and core instruments and services offered;
• To provide a good knowledge of the basic institutional architecture and governance of the UK financial system and, when possible, of the EU, and the international financial systems;
• To provide a good knowledge of the basic principles of law underpinning the law of banking and securities in English law;
• To introduce students to the rights and obligations applicable to banks, investment firms, consumers, investors, when buying or offering a financial product in English law;
• To provide a good understanding of the nature of money and payments;
• To provide a basic understanding of the law of financial crime as applicable to banks;
• To encourage an awareness of the social and economic contexts and the systemic goals that influence the regulation of financial products.

Content

• The structure of the financial system (banks, investment firms, payment firms, regulators, investors, consumers);
• The bank-customer relationship;
• Bank lending;
• The nature and evolution of money;
• Payment systems and payments law;
• Prudential regulation of banks;
• Bank supervision and supervisory fines;
• Securities law;
• Financial crime.

Learning Outcomes

• Students should be able to demonstrate knowledge of the key legal and regulatory issues relating to the working of banks and other financial institutions;
• Students should be able to understand the evolution of financial markets and to critically analyze such developments;
• Students should familiarize themselves with the secondary literature on financial law and financial policy.

• Articulate and apply the core principles of financial law and regulation to real financial scenarios and jurisprudential cases;
• Explain the limitations of the current regulatory and legal system;
• Engage in informed debate on the evolution of the law in the field of banking, monetary, and securities law.

• Demonstrate developed research and writing skills, including the ability to work independently and for the student to take responsibility for their own learning;
• Develop expertise in conducting research into materials from a variety of national and comparative sources;
• Describe accurately and comprehensibly the arguments and analysis of other commentators;
• Write in a clear and structured way and to put forward ideas in a scholarly manner;
• Demonstrate an ability to explore complex issues creatively in writing;
• Show the skill of formulating complex policy arguments.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Lectures are used primarily to impart a framework of knowledge and to suggest approaches to evaluation and critical analysis;
• Tutorials will be used to develop and enhance students’ analytical capacity for legal-problem solving, evaluative critical analysis and their appreciation of laws' linkage with broader fields of enquiry;
• An assignment (formative) is used to develop problem-solving skills or the ability to evaluate the law in a critical and contextual way;
• Summative assessment comprises a closed book exam of 4000 words. Students will be asked to answer a number of questions of increased complexity. The questions will provide the means for students to demonstrate the acquisition of subject knowledge and the development of their analytical skills.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

One written essay of 1500 words.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University