Undergraduate Module Descriptor

LAW3032: Law of Obligations (German Law)

This module descriptor refers to the 2018/9 academic year.

Module Aims

The Law of Obligations II course constitutes the third part of the LLB European (German) / Magister module. The course is intended to give students a deeper insight into the law of obligations and to provide them with a sound knowledge of the second book of the German Civil Code (BGB) It deals both with contractual (e.g. contracts on the sale of goods) and non-contractual obligations (e.g. torts). Students are expected to acquire a confident grasp of the subject, developing an integrated understanding of German Civil Law. Since this is the last year before the students go abroad in order to obtain the German degree of Magister it is vital that they become confident with the German methodology and case solving technique. Of equal importance, it is the general purpose of the course to develop power of legal reasoning for advanced law study in German.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills	1. demonstrate extensive and accurate knowledge of German Civil Law, especially of how to apply the German Civil Code systematically, 2. display sophisticated interpretation German Civil Law provisions and to express themselves confidently in German on the issues named above. 3. clearly present the ability to identify and analyse sophisticated legal problems, to solve these problems by applying the law with competence, and to do research effectively. 4. demonstrate a clear understanding of German legal methodology thus enabling you to handle writing of extensive essays in German law with competence confidence
Discipline-Specific Skills	5. demonstrate how to solve sophisticated Germen Civil Law cases in a logically structured way by applying, interpreting and critically analysing the law. 6. present sophisticated ability to use of different sources of information independently, i.e. textbooks, articles, commentaries, when dealing with German legal issues in general and Civil Law in particular. 7. Make evident comparisons with English law and, by doing so, to demonstrate a sophisticated understanding both of the German and the English system of private law.
Personal and Key Skills	8. demonstrate a sophisticated ability to develop clear arguments in German 9. demonstrate a sophisticated ability to select and analyse material competently and independently in order to do research in German Civil Law on a wide scale and to manage your time to prepare written exercises applying German methodology with proficiency.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

It is envisaged that the syllabus will include the following topics in the following order although precise content and order may vary.

General Introduction: differentiation between contractual and non-contractual obligations;

Sale of goods contracts: bearing the risk, warranty of quality;

Different other types of contracts: contracts for work and services, contracts for services, tenancy agreements;

Law of Torts;

Unjustified enrichment;

Negotiorum gestio (Geschaeftsführung ohne Auftrag)

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
66	234	0

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching activity	44	Lectures
Scheduled Learning and Teaching activity	22	Tutorials
Guided Independent study	80	(a) Research and pre-lecture reading as indicated on the handout of previous lecture
Guided Independent study	44	(b) preparation of tutorials through working with problem question distributed prior to tutorial
Guided Independent study	100	(c) research and further reading as indicated on handout of lecture (section ''further reading')
Guided Independent study	10	(d) revision of lectures as displayed on the ELE website

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).