Module LAW48715: Capital Markets Law

Department: Law

LAW48715: Capital Markets Law

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To introduce students to the structure and functioning of the capital markets, including actors, regulators, infrastructures, core products, services and instruments offered.
• To provide a good knowledge of the basic institutional architecture and governance of the UK capital markets and, when possible, of the EU and the international capital market.
• To introduce students to the regulatory obligations applicable to investment firms and market infrastructures when buying or offering a financial product and/or service under English law.
• To provide a good understanding of the nature of securities.
• To encourage an awareness of the social and economic contexts and the systemic goals that influence the regulation of capital markets.

Content

• The structure of capital markets (investment firms, clearing and settlement firms, investors, and regulators).
• What is a security? Different types of securities and their legal characteristics
• Securities offering
• Disclosure and reporting rules
• Clearing and settlements (legal and regulatory aspects)
• Insider Trading and market abuse
• Civil and regulatory liability
• Rating agencies

Learning Outcomes

• Students will gain an advanced understanding of capital markets and their basic components.
• Students will gain an advanced understanding of the principles of capital markets regulation as they apply at the UK, EU, and international levels.
• Students will gain an advanced knowledge of the secondary literature on securities law and policy.
• Students will gain an advanced knowledge of the key legal, regulatory, and supervisory issues relating to the working of investment firms, market infrastructures and other institutions operating in capital markets.
• Students will gain a critical understanding of the effectiveness of the law as a means of protecting investors given the legal, political, economic, social and cultural context in which it operates.

• Ability to identify and describe the roles played by the UK, EU, and international policymaking, as well as regulatory and supervisory bodies responsible for the health of the financial system.
• Ability to identify the legal, economic, and policy issues relating to capital markets regulation and supervision.
• Ability to articulate in writing and/or orally and apply the core principles of financial law and regulation to real financial scenarios.
• Ability to explain in writing and/or orally the limitations of the current legal, regulatory and supervisory system.
• Ability to engage in informed debate on the evolution of the law in the field of capital markets law.
• Ability to conduct research into regulatory materials from a variety of national and comparative sources.
• Ability to formulate in writing and/or orally complex legal, policy, and regulatory arguments.

• Advanced research skills.
• Advanced writing skills.
• Advanced oral presentations and discussion skills.
• Ability to work independently and take responsibility for their learning.
• Ability to analyse and comment critically on laws, regulations, and policies.
• Ability to engage with the academic literature.
• Critical thinking.

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

• The teaching will be based on seminars supported by substantial but targeted reading assignments before each seminar to provide a deeper understanding of the issues. The readings are selected from established doctrinal sources and cutting-edge scholarship in the area.
• The assessment supports the aims of the teaching methods. The in-class tests will assess the ability of the students to analyse the subject material, conduct research, and present a structured and articulate argument on the subject.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

The formative will entail the analysis of a regulatory issue on a topic covered by the syllabus. The analysis will be 1000 words in length.

■ 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