A study of Commercial Law not only demands a high level of academic understanding but also draws significantly on legal skills. The module is designed to provide the requisite knowledge and understanding and develop the legal skills deemed necessary for those students who wish to work in a trading environment.

The content will be divided between semesters as follows:

Semester 1: Law of Sale
The Sale of Goods Act 1979: Implied terms; transfer of title and ownership; delivery and performance.
Unfair contract terms in contracts of sale.
Remedies for breach of contract of sale.
E-commerce and distance selling

Semester 2: Consumer Protection Law
The national and European framework of consumer protection law.
Product Liability and Product Safety under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 and General Product Safety Regulations 2005.
The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008
Advertising and Marketing and Codes of Practice
Consumer Credit
Regulation and Enforcement

The learning strategy for this module is based around students committing a total of 300 hours of activities towards achieving the learning outcomes. These will be split between 54 hours of direct contact with a tutor and 246 hours of directed, guided and self-study, together with preparation for and completion of the assessment tasks.

Contact will include a mixture of small and larger group activities, much of it based on the principles of practice and problem based learning. Learning will be organised into a series of sessions where students will be required to participate. Each session will be based around a problem or issue, and students will work towards a range of solutions by specifying objectives, identifying constraints, obtaining background information, applying related theory and knowledge based around the subject matter.

Large group sessions seek to establish an overview framework within which selected theories and rules of the subject matter can be more effectively developed. They will verify and consolidate knowledge and understanding and will engage in more detailed exposition of selected theories, rules and constraints.

The guided learning will incorporate a mixture of activities, some of which will require group work and electronic interaction. The learning will be facilitated by use of the VLE platform and discussions/interactions between students and tutors.

Students will be expected to be familiar with contemporary discussions in this area of law, and to bring a range of ideas to bear on the discussions. Thus, although there will be a framework of knowledge and understanding, students will be actively, rather than passively, engaged in the process of both learning about, and increasing understanding of, the subject matter.

The module will use a blend of teaching methods to enable different styles of learning to be facilitated. The differing methods will also be a platform for the development of essential skills such as intellectual skills, communication skills and problem solving, as well as research, teamwork, negotiation, presentation, referencing, argument, judgement and appropriate use of IT.



WHOLE GROUP SESSIONS

In these sessions students will be introduced to the general concepts underlying the subject and be provided with an outline of the relevant legislative provisions and case law. Students will be given study packs and hand outs. Some of the sessions will include collaborative activities to focus on skills such as teamwork , presentation and research. Students will also be given instruction in interactive use of blackboard to develop their research, teamwork and self-refelective skills.

SMALL GROUP SESSIONS

These will be preceded by a period of independent student-centred learning. The module study guides contain indicative reading, problem solving and research based exercises and direction to online exercises in the keeping of self-reflective journals as well as teamwork exercises by means of wiki groups. The purpose of the small group sessions is to help students assess their understanding of the subject, to develop skills of analysis, problem solving and application of the law to practical situations. In the second semester emphasis is placed on research skills and students will be given extensive guidance on the use of legal online search sites as well as evaluation of sources used for assignments.

DIRECTED STUDY AND INDEPENDENT LEARNING

This will consist of preparation for the work to be undertaken in the workshops and also assessment. Students will be provided with guidance in their module study guide, lecture materials and via Blackboard. A significant amount of on-line guided support will be provided via Blackboard and this will include further reading, research exercises, and on-line collaboration to support workshop preparation. The independent learning activities encourage students to develop a critical understanding of the principles of contract and provide practice in preparation for assessments. Students will be expected to keep a self-reflective journal throughout the module. 236 hours

54 + 236 hours
TOTAL HOURS 300

Working towards the assessment tasks will be a key element of the learning, and tutors will be available to guide students through the process, and to improve their ability to meet the learning outcomes to a high standard. It is expected that around 50 hours of the module will be devoted to the assessment tasks - much of it during the self-directed periods.

Assessment will be an integral part of the module. There will be two assessment points and tutorials focused on assessment activities will be scheduled into the timetable. Earlier tasks will be shorter and more succinct, enabling fast feedback from the tutors so that students can learn and improve for later assessment tasks. At least one task will be of the “active” variety – such as a verbal presentation, group activity or similar. Formative feedback will be provided wherever possible.


ASSESSMENT 1

A PROBLEM SOLVING EXERCISE weighted at 50%

To assess learning outcomes: 1, 2, 6 and 7

Online submission

SEMESTER 2

A PORTFOLIO comprising of two tasks ( see below ) weighted at 50%

To assess learning outcomes: 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7

Students are required to submit a portfolio comprising two tasks as follows:

Task 1: Critical essay independently selected and researched (25% weighting)
To assess outcomes 3, 6 and 7

Task 2: Evaluation of sources used in task 1: skills based (25% weighted)
To assess outcomes 3, 4, 5 & 7

Textbooks/e-text
Blackboard
Study Guide
Westlaw/Lexis Nexis

Adams & McQueen: Atiyah’s Sale of Goods Pearson/Longman (Core)
Dobson & Stokes: Commercial law (Core) Sweet & Maxwell
Rose: Blackstones Statutes in Consumer and Commercial Law (OUP) (Core)
Woodroffe & Lowe: Consumer Law and Practice Sweet & Maxwell (Recommended)

It is advisable that students have studied some element of contract law, commercial law or business law before embarking on this module.

1.Demonstrate a thorough, critical understanding of the statutory and common law provisions relevant to contracts for the sale of goods in both business to business and business to consumer transactions
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

2.Identify the use of exclusion clauses in a given scenario and critically assess their validity and impact on a sale agreement
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
ANALYSIS
PROBLEM SOLVING

3.Demonstrate a critical understanding of the national and international framework within which consumer protection law operates giving relevant examples
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
APPLICATION

4.Demonstrate a critical awareness of contemporary influences on the development of consumer protection law
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
ANALYSIS

5.Undertake evaluative, independent research on a given topic using primary and secondary sources.
ENQUIRY
ANALYSIS
REFLECTION

6. Select and deploy knowledge and understanding of legislative provisions and relevant case law to build up logical, relevant and well reasoned argument.
ANALYSIS
APPLICATION
PROBLEM SOLVING

7. Communicate effectively in writing using acceptable referencing practices.
COMMUNICATION