| Unit name | Company Law |
|---|---|
| Unit code | LAWDM0008 |
| Credit points | 30 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Georgina Tsagas |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | University of Bristol Law School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
This unit provides a grounding in the principles of English company law, studying those principles in a practical and theoretical context. Seminar topics include: the concept of corporate personality, corporate capacity and the authority of officers; problems in public companies; problems in private companies; shareholders' rights and minority protection; directors' duties and their enforcement; corporate social responsibility; groups; creditor protection; takeovers.
By the end of the unit, a successful student will be able to explain: a) the legal, institutional and regulatory environment relevant to companies and their activities
b) the legal relationships between companies and shareholders, between directors and shareholders and between companies and stakeholders
c) the key current issues and debates in the theory and practice of company law
Students should be able to state the law accurately, to apply legal principles to problem case scenarios, and to think critically about ways in which the law could be reformed.
The examination includes both problem type and essay type questions, designed to assess both whether students were able to understand and apply the law across the breadth of the syllabus, and whether they were able to think critically about it.
Ten fortnightly two hour seminars
Summative - a 3 hour written exam (in which students answer 3 questions from a choice of 10 questions).
The assessment will assess all the Intended Learning Outcomes for this unit.
Formative - students should do one formative assessment and may do two.
B Hannigan, Company Law (3rd edn., OUP, 2012)
P L Davies, Gower and Davies’ Principles of Modern Company Law (9th edn., Sweet and Maxwell, London, 2012)
Boyle and Birds Company Law (Jordans, 8th ed, 2011)
