Unit information: Insolvency Law in 2015/16

Unit name	Insolvency Law
Unit code	LAWD30104
Credit points	20
Level of study	H/6
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24)
Unit director	Professor. Furey
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	LAWD10008 Law of Contract or LAWD10007 Foundations of Business Law
Co-requisites	None
School/department	University of Bristol Law School
Faculty	Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Description including Unit Aims

When debtors are unable to pay their debts in full, the law provides a means by which the insolvent estate is dealt with (bankruptcy in the case of individuals, liquidation in the case of companies) and rules which determine how the estate is distributed among competing creditors. Creditors' claims may arise, for example, under contracts of loan, sale, lease, employment, etc., as a result of liability in tort, or, under statute, to tax authorities or environmental agencies etc. This unit examines how these competing claims are balanced and how contracts are often drafted with the aim of improving the protection of a creditor in the event of the other party to the contract becoming insolvent. Also involved in the balancing exercise, in the case of individual debtors, are the claims of the debtor and the debtor's family.

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of this unit a successful student will be able to:

• Demonstrate an understanding of how insolvency law is based on certain fundamental principles
• Compare the solutions to problems in bankruptcy and liquidation
• Demonstrate an appreciation of how the threat of insolvency plays a part in drafting contracts
• Relate different areas of law together
• Evaluate a set of legal rules
• Tackle legal problems

Teaching Information

Ten one-hour lectures and ten two-hour seminars.

Assessment Information

Summative assessment is by one three-hour closed book examination in May/June, in which students answer 4 questions (two essays and two problems) from a choice of 8 questions.

One formative problem is set over the Christmas vacation, to be handed in at the first seminar of the spring term which is then marked, handed back and discussed at the next seminar. Students will have the opportunity to submit one further piece of formative work. The first formative assessment for this unit is mandatory; the second formative assessment is optional.

The assessments will assess all of the intended learning outcomes for this unit.

Reading and References

• Roy Goode Principles of Corporate Insolvency Law (Sweet & Maxwell, 4th edn., 2011)
• Thomas H Jackson The Logic and Limits of Bankruptcy Law(Harvard University Press, 1986)