Commercial law forms much of the background against which society functions. It is essential to the operation of the business world. However the legal aspects of transactions are not always at the forefront of the minds of those entering into them or carrying them through. Legal rules may not be considered until one side finds that something has gone wrong and a legal remedy is required. In this Commercial Law Module agency law and insurance contract law is examined from the perspective as to how they facilitate trade through pragmatic legal rules, balancing the need for certainty with the requirement of flexibility to accommodate business needs. From this rather orthodox approach to the subject, Commercial & Risk moves on to examine how some of the existing commercial-legal certainties are challenged in new environments such as the Internet, as well as the various attempts and strategies of businesses and law-makers to rise to some of these challenges. A theme which runs through the topics is that of risks, what types of risks businesses or consumers vis-a-vis businesses face and to what extent the law and regulation does, can or should deal with these risks or at least play a complementary role in reducing them.

This module aims to introduce students to selected aspects of commercial law (other than those considered in LA 31710), as well as the commercial environment within which commercial law develops.