FOUNDATIONS OF COMPANY LAW - 2020/1

Module Overview

This module covers the law relating to companies. It starts by providing an overview of the main forms of business organisation, and continues with a focus on the incorporated company. It  introduces students to the core concepts of company law (such as limited liability and separate legal personality); the practical issues involved in running a company; the basic rights and obligations of the parties involved in the corporate structure; the way companies are financed, and the impact of a company’s insolvency. It is an optional module for students who are interested in the law relating to companies, and/or business or commercial law more generally.

Module provider

School of Law

Module Leader

JAMES Timothy (Schl of Law)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 6

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

  None

Module content

Indicative content includes:

• Introduction to company law: forms of business organization.


• Limited liability and lifting the veil.


• Formation of a company – promoters and pre-incorporation contracts.


• The constitution of a company.


• The corporate structure and membership of the company.


• Directors’ powers and duties.


• Protection of minority shareholders’ rights.


• Capital raising and maintenance.


• Corporate rescue and company liquidation.


• Directors’ liability and transaction avoidance.

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate their critical and conceptual understanding of the subject, and their ability to apply knowledge in a practical context. In this respect, the assessment is principally designed to enable students to identify, apply and evaluate relevant legal principles. As such, the aim of the strategy is to provide students with an opportunity to demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the subject in line with the learning outcomes listed.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of a 1500 word patchwork assessment (during semester 1) and a 1500 word coursework assessment (Semester 1, January).

Formative assessment and feedback

Students will receive feedback on their performance during the module through oral feedback in lectures and tutorials and individual feedback on patches submitted in tutorials undertaken during the teaching term.

Summative Assessment:

During Semester: 1500 word patchwork assessment based on patches submitted in tutorials.

At end of Semester: 1500 word coursework assessment.

 

The assessment method for each module has been selected to test a variety of key skills, competences and outcomes as required by QAA. As such, the assessment method cannot be changed. Reasonable adjustment may be made on application subject to ALS approval AND only where such adjustment still allows for the required skills, key competences and outcomes to be assessed at an equivalent level.
 

Module aims

• This module aims to familiarise students with the area of company law and to promote in them a critical awareness of the role of the law in regulating business organisations. In this context, students are invited to consider questions such as:
• What options are available to a person starting a business?
• How are companies formed, and what are the effects of such incorporation?
• How is membership of a company acquired, and what rights flow from it?
• What are the key components of a company, and what part do they play in the conduct of its business?
• What are the duties of directors and how can shareholders' rights be protected.
• How are companies financed?
• How does the law encourage the survival of companies which are in financial distress?
•  How are insolvent companies liquidated?

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to stimulate private study using primary and secondary sources, both paper-based and electronic.  The aim of the strategy is to develop an understanding and critical awareness of the essential principles and underlying policies of English company law.

 

The learning and teaching methods include:

One 2 hour lecture (weekly) plus one 1 hour tutorial (fortnightly) over 11 weeks.

The lectures will provide an overview of the topics to enable the students to understand the essential principles of each topic and their significance. The lectures and lecture outlines introduce students to legislation, cases, texts and scholarly writing to enable them to deepen their knowledge of each topic.

The tutorials are intended to be occasions when students can demonstrate their knowledge and ability to apply it to tutorial questions set prior to the tutorial.  The tutorials are accordingly designed to be student-led.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: LAW3109

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2020/1 academic year.