| Unit name | Law and Markets |
|---|---|
| Unit code | LAWDM0182 |
| Credit points | 30 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Professor. Davey |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None. |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
Check your programme requirements. |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None. |
| School/department | University of Bristol Law School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Why is this unit important?
Modern commercial law operates across a complex environment of ‘more free’ and ‘more regulated’ markets. This unit provides a high-level introduction to the relationship between law and commercial markets. Large parts of (international) trade law assume that contracts are made between parties of equal bargaining power and that those parties know best how to arrange their affairs. In these markets, recognising and respecting party autonomy is a primary goal of law. Other markets, by their nature, tend to require greater state intervention by way of regulation.This course looks at common issues across these differing types of market, and the way in which risks are allocated and mitigated.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
This is a mandatory unit for the Commercial Law, International Commercial Law and Banking and Finance LLM programmes. It provides a crucial introduction to core concepts and literatures that can then be applied in individual units in each of those programmes. The unit is also available as an option for all other LLM programmes.
An overview of content
The first four topics cover a range of core issues within markets, and the fifth works on case studies from each of the specific programmes:
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?
This unit provides a core set of issues that are common to many markets, even though the response to those issues differs considerably from market to market. This module enables students to develop arguments with confidence, by enhancing their familiarity with key concepts, drawn from academic writing, including that of leading academics, practitioners and judges.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the unit, a successful student will be able to:
The unit will be taught in TB1 and will include lectures and seminars. These activities will typically take place on campus. A short series of asynchronous videos will introduce key concepts and arguments at the start of each topic. This is followed by curated reading lists, and a series of seminar questions that range from testing introductory knowledge to engagement with key issues and academic sources. Teaching is student-centred, and you will be expected to contribute to seminar discussion and to engage in peer-to-peer learning.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
Formative assessments will come in many forms, including discussions in the seminars, group exercises and asynchronous activities in the virtual learning environment. These help you develop your thinking, argumentation, and communication skills. These form an assessment for learning and will not contribute to the final unit mark.
A formal formative assessment (1,000 words) will be submitted midway through the unit and will take the form of a reflective response to a piece of academic writing, or equivalent. Students will receive individual written feedback and general cohort feedback, typically via a lecture, on this formative assessment.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
The summative assessment will require you to complete two 2,000 word research essays submitted as a single piece of coursework. This assessment will cover all Intended Learning Outcomes for this unit.
When assessment does not go to plan:
When a student fails the unit and is eligible to resubmit, the unit will be reassessed on a like-for-like basis with new assessment questions.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. LAWDM0182).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
