Undergraduate Module Descriptor

LAW3019: Commercial Law

This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.

Module Aims

The aim of this module is to develop your understanding of key aspects of commercial law, including how sales contracts are created, what rights the parties enjoy and what kind of liabilities such contracts may give rise to domestically as well as under international law; how intermediaries are used to get the goods to the market and the relations that exist between manufacturers and customers. Consideration will be given to the aims of commercial law and its efficacy in achieving its aims.

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 a thorough understanding of the main areas of commercial law in England and Wales and internationally, and be able to discuss the practical and business context in which they operate; 2. Demonstrate a critical awareness of relevant issues, and identify and analyse critically legal problems in the commercial law context; and 3. Demonstrate an awareness of pragmatic, commercial, moral, policy and/or other issues in this field.
Discipline-Specific Skills	4. Read legislation and case law, and apply it critically to specific commercial situations 5. Identify and evaluate critically legal data from more than one source or jurisdiction; 6. Analyse and apply legal data to specific facts and deduce likely outcomes where law is indeterminate; 7. Analyse and apply theoretical knowledge to specific situations;
Personal and Key Skills	8. Demonstrate effective and persuasive communication skills in assessments and discussion; 9. Demonstrate sound research skills; and demonstrate effective team skills; 10. Work independently, within a limited time frame, to complete a specified task.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Whilst the module’s precise content and order of syllabus coverage may vary, it is envisaged that it will include some of the following topics:-

Introduction to commercial law

Agency:external relationship

Implied terms

Passing of risk and property

Remedies of the buyer

Remedies of the seller

Agency: the external relationship

Sale of goods

Sources of international commercial sales: English law and SOGA 1979, Incoterms, CIF and FOB contracts, 1980 Vienna Convention on International sale of goods

Creation of the contract: incorporation of standard terms and transport obligations

Transfer of risk and property

Seller’s duty re the goods and documents

Bills of lading

Letters of credit

Rejection and remedies for breach of contract

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
53	247	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 activities	44	22 x 2 hour Lectures
Scheduled learning and teaching activities	9	6 x 1.5 hour workshops
Guided independent study	111	Individual reading and lecture preparation
Guided independent study	37	Workshop preparation
Guided independent study	82	Assessment preparation
Guided independent study	17	Formative assessment

Online Resources

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

ELE – http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/