Economic and Business Law in Asia

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2016:

This subject has a quota of 25 students. Applicants are selected through a competitive application process. Please refer to the Melbourne Law JD website for further information.

144 hours

Only approved applicants can enrol into this subject. Please see above for information on how to apply for this subject, application due dates, etc.

Successful completion of all the below subjects:

The Melbourne Law School welcomes applications from students with disabilities. It is University and Law School policy to take all reasonable steps to enable the participation of students with disabilities, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the School's programs.

The inherent academic requirements for the study in the Melbourne Law School are:

• The ability to attend classes and actively engage in the analysis of complex materials and debate;
• The ability to read, analyse and comprehend complex written legal materials and complex interdisciplinary materials;
• The ability to clearly and independently communicate in writing a knowledge and application of legal principles and interdisciplinary materials and critically evaluate these;
• The ability to clearly and independently communicate orally a knowledge and application of legal principles and interdisciplinary materials and critically evaluate these;
• The ability to work independently and as a part of a group;
• The ability to present orally and in writing legal analysis to a professional standard.

Students must possess behavioural and social attributes that enable them to participate in a complex learning environment. Students are required to take responsibility for their own participation and learning. They also contribute to the learning of other students in collaborative learning environments, demonstrating interpersonal skills and an understanding of the needs of other students. Assessment may include the outcomes of tasks completed in collaboration with other students.

Students who feel their disability will inhibit them from meeting these inherent academic requirements are encouraged to contact Student Equity and Disability Support.

This subject will be taught intensively in one or more jurisdictions in Asia with the support of various host institutions and will examine, from an advanced and specialist perspective, economic and commercial law in Asia by reference to key transactions and key areas of substantive law, including:

• Corporate mergers and acquisitions;
• Competition law;
• Finance and insolvency;
• Trade and investment law.

The subject aims to equip students with an expert knowledge of key areas of economic and commercial law governing transactions in Asia, including the role of lawyers and the practical skills that they require in order to perform their role effectively. Through learning about the law governing transactions in selected Asian jurisdictions, students will develop an ability to examine law from a comparative perspective and will gain an advanced, integrated understanding of the nature of commercial practice in the region. The teaching methodology will incorporate a transactions-based, skills-based approach and will be enhanced through guest lectures from commercial law practitioners in Asia and representatives of host institutions.

A student who has successfully completed this subject should have an advanced understanding of, and be able to critically analyse:

• Fundamental aspects of the practice of commercial law in Asia and the importance of understanding the different models and approaches;
• The structure and operation of selected legal systems in Asia;
• The interaction and different dynamics between policy, legal systems and commercial laws in Asia;
• The role of commercial lawyers and the skills that they need in order to perform their role effectively;
• The utility and limitations of comparative analyses of laws;
• Practical case studies relating to commercial transactions in Asia;

and

• Apply this understanding and analytical capacity to new situations and contexts;
• Communicate their analysis in appropriate scholarly and professional formats.

• 1,500-word memorandum of advice on an aspect of commercial law in Asia, due two weeks after teaching (30%);
• 5,000-word take-home exam, scheduled 16th-19th December 2016 (70%).

Specialist printed materials will also be made available from the Melbourne Law School.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

On completion of the subject students should have developed and demonstrated their skills in the following areas:

• Cognitive skills to demonstrate mastery of theoretical knowledge and to apply that knowledge (including core legal principles and concepts studied in compulsory JD subjects) in the context of commercial practice in Asia;
• Cognitive, technical and creative skills to investigate, analyse and synthesise complex information, problems and concepts in a cross-jurisdictional context and from a comparative law perspective;
• Cognitive, technical and creative skills to generate and evaluate complex ideas and concepts at an abstract level and the ability to translate those abstract ideas and concepts to practical problems, demonstrated in classroom discussion of practical problems and in the interim assessment task;
• Communication and technical skills to design, evaluate, implement, analyse and advise on complex legal structures and issues to specialist and non-specialist audiences; and
• Technical skills in relation to advising clients, negotiating transactions and drafting legal documentation for commercial transactions in Asia.