We seek through this module to engage with our students and introduce them to what will be, for the majority, the unfamiliar context of law and regulation, as it impacts on business at both the local national, but more significantly and in particular, the transnational level. The ultimate aim is to instil in students a degree of comfort and confidence, in accessing and considering the legal implications of conducting business on a transnational basis, encouraging the students in developing their identities as global citizens, with an emphasis on and an exploration of, the social impact of cross border corporate business behaviour, issues of justice and fairness inherent within this. In this way, we will encourage and help our students to develop an insightful, critical and responsible approach to their future participation in, and contribution to, a global and an inter- connected economy.

(LO1) Students will be able to develop knowledge of a number of selected issues in international business law, enable students to begin to evaluate the scope and the ways in which business is regulated in a global economy, and consider also the ethical considerations inherent within this.

(LO2) Students will be able to gain an understanding of transnational consumer law, encompassing product liability, through an analysis of tort and contract law.

(LO3) Students will be able to critically consider the law that governs international contractual relations conducted and concluded electronically across borders and over distances.

(LO4) Students will be able to consider and analyse the ways in which international business law seeks to align and enforce national intellectual property protection mechanisms.

(LO5) Students will be able to consider and critically analyse how the law seeks to regulate international corporate behaviour and corporate culture in the context of a global and inter-connected economy with a focus on larger listed public companies

(S1) Flexible and adaptable learning

(S2) International awareness

(S3) Commercial awareness

(S4) Legal awareness

(S5) Ethical Awareness

(S6) Problem Solving Skills

(S7) Organised and Able to Work Under Pressure

(S8) Lifelong Learning Skills

Teaching Method: Lecture
Description: Discussion of the law and regulation will be delivered in a lecture setting
Scheduled Directed Student Hours: 24
Attendance Recorded: Yes
Notes: 12 x 2 hour sessions

Teaching Method: Seminar
Description: Seminar sessions will deliver the opportunity to apply that law in problem scenarios designed to reflect the reality of the international business law environment.
Scheduled Directed Student Hours: 5
Attendance Recorded: Yes
Notes: 5 x 1 hour sessions

Self Directed Learning Hours: 121
Description: : Reading of key text and recommended wider reading, researching real life case studies and developing academic writing skills around this through written work which will be assessed and feedback provided.

Skills/Other Attributes Mapping

Skills / attributes: Flexible and adaptable learning
How this is developed: Lectures and seminar attendance, and assessment by way of course work
Mode of assessment (if applicable): Essay (Midterm) and Case Study

Skills / attributes: International awareness
How this is developed: Lectures and seminar attendance, and assessment by way of course work
Mode of assessment (if applicable): Essay (Midterm) and Case Study

Skills / attributes: Commercial awareness
How this is developed: Lectures and seminar attendance, and assessment by way of course work
Mode of assessment (if applicable): Essay (Midterm) and Case Study

Skills / attributes: Legal awareness
How this is developed: Lectures and seminar attendance, and assessment by way of course work
Mode of assessment (if applicable): Essay (Midterm) and Case Study

Skills / attributes: Ethical awareness
How this is developed: Lectures and seminar attendance, and assessment by way of course work
Mode of assessment (if applicable): Essay (Midterm) and Case Study

Skills / attributes: Problem solving skills
How this is developed: Lectures and seminar attendance, and assessment by way of course work
Mode of assessment (if applicable): Essay (Midterm) and Case Study

Skills / attributes: Organised and able to work under pressure
How this is developed: Lectures and seminar attendance, and assessment by way of course work
Mode of assessment (if applicable): Essay (Midterm) and Case Study

Skills / attributes:Lifelong learning skills
How this is developed:Lectures and seminar attendance, and assessment by way of course work
Mode of assessment (if applicable): Essay (Midterm) and Case Study

International business law impacts significantly on consumers and businesses, but also has profound implications for regulators as they negotiate the challenges of regulating corporate behaviour. Ethical and moral considerations of fairness and justice are inherent in the development of transnational business regulation through the increasing and greater recognition of consumer interests, a greater awareness of corporate misbehaviour and the advances of technology and advancing automation. Concerns over consumer and employer protections sit alongside attempts to provide a safe and level playing field, for businesses conducting cross border trade.
There are therefore many topics that could be covered in this course (eg environmental law, labour law, health and safety law), but given the constraints of the 15 credit module, we will primarily focus on 4 areas which will give students a taste of some of the ways in which business law impacts on international business, and how and b y whom that law is generated and enforced.
The substantive areas of law on which we will focus will be:
(i) Transnational Consumer law – encompassing product liability and warranty law, through an understanding of tort law and contractual relations, and the protections and remedies afforded thereby

(ii) Transnational E-commerce – looking at the law that governs questions relating to contractual relations and transactions conducted and concluded electronically across borders and over distances

(iii) Transnational Intellectual property law – considering the ways in which international business law attempts to align and then enforce national IP protection mechanisms, so as to create a level playing field and a safe environment for business transacted in the context of rapid and dynamic technological evolution, and a digital society

(iv) International Corporate governance – focussing on the larger listed public company, ethical considerations and the challenges of regulating corporate behaviour, in the context of the global economy, and addressing the problematic issues posed by the corporate form; limited liability; agency risks; and levels of corporate wrongdoing and crime.

We will conclude the course with a brief consideration of the possible future direction of business law more generally, and emphasising the value of legal awareness as a significant resource for both business, and the actors and participants within it.