Module Information

Module Identifier
LA31210
Module Title
Corporate Governance
Academic Year
2020/2021
Co-ordinator
Semester
Semester 1
Also available in
Pre-Requisite
GF15830/LA15830/LA35830 or LA35310 or LA30720
Pre-Requisite
GF10110/LA10110 or LA14230/GF14230 or LA14720/GF14720 GF30110/LA30110 or LA34230/GF34230 or LA34720/GF34720 or LA15710
Other Staff

Course Delivery

 

Assessment

Due to Covid-19 students should refer to the module Blackboard pages for assessment details

Assessment Type Assessment length / details Proportion
Semester Exam 1.5 Hours   Candidates are not permitted to bring any books, notes or any other materials into the examination.  100%
Supplementary Exam 1.5 Hours   Candidates are not permitted to bring any books, notes or any other materials into the examination.  100%

Learning Outcomes

Students studying this module should be able to describe the distinguishing features of the company both in terms of its internal organization and its external recognition. Beyond that, Corporate Governance will enable students to describe the competing interests which the peculiar features of the company give rise to or polarise and critically analyze how various instances of statute and case law seek to balance these interests. More specifically, students should, for example, be able to explain why extending the crime of manslaughter to companies or integrating the legal concept of corporate social responsibility within company law has proved problematic.

Content

1. The Company and Transnational Companies
2. Theories of the Company
3. Corporate Manslaughter
4. Forumshopping, and Human Rights and The Alien Tort Claims Act
5. McDonalds and Nike - Victims?

Aims

The aim of this module is to provide students with an insight into the theoretical foundations of company law and into the legal, jurisprudential and societal problems arising from the in many ways highly successful legal construct of the company.

Brief description

Corporate Governance will, first of all, introduce students to the legal concept of the company and its basic internal organization.

From there the modules will be structured to reflect the various tensions between competing interests which arise from the distinct internal organization of the company as well as from the external recognition of companies and their limited liability status, with particular focus on public companies. So, for example, the modules will explore the implications of the artificial personality of the company for those transacting with it, the potential and actual abuses of this fictitious-person status and how the law seeks to deal with them. The module also examines the tensions arising from the separation of ownership and control within companies and from the democratic decision'raking process by their owners.

By examining concepts such as corporate social responsibility and corporate manslaughter, the module touches upon recent and growing pressures on regulators to acknowledge the drastic impact companies have on all spheres of our lives. These topics illustrate particularly well the dynamic aspect of corporate governance and the constant struggle by the law to balance deserving competing interests.

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 6