LAW2321: FINANCIAL LAW

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

• None

• None

• 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.

• 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.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• 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.

Subject-specific Skills:

• 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.

Key Skills:

• 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.

• 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.

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