LLM International Business and Commercial Law

With the explosion of the global financial crisis in the period between September 2007 (the credit crunch in the UK and the fall of Northern Rock) and September 2008 (the spectacular collapse of Lehman Brothers), financial regulation has now become one of the hottest topics to be researched and discussed in many academic circles. Notwithstanding the preeminent legal nature of this module, the multidisciplinary character of this topic is evident and a comprehensive understanding of regulatory issues in the area of financial law needs to take under consideration questions of economics, politics, finance and anthropology inter alia. Some of the literature discussed in the lectures (and to be read before each seminar) reflects therefore this approach.

Financial regulation is also an incredibly broad topic and no individual module could offer a comprehensive coverage of the whole subject. Beyond providing a background to the structures and theories of financial regulation, this course is focused on the in depth discussion of selected case studies and regulatory issues. While a comparative overview of different regulatory systems, chiefly UK, EU and USA, is provided, this module is not designed to provide a comprehensive examination of financial regulation in either of these jurisdictions. Emphasis on the other hand will be laid on the international nature of many regulatory approaches and techniques, which reflect the relevance of transnational regulatory networks in this area of law.

The principal aim of this module is to familiarise students with theoretical and practical approaches to the regulation of financial services in the UK and in the international context. Students will be enabled to critically and independently reflect on a number of issues among which: a) recognise the main issues and challenges arising in the regulation of financial services; b) relate these issues to the broader questions of business regulation and to practical problems in the financial services industry.

Upon successful completion of the module, students will be capable of conducting independent research in a number of areas of financial regulation. In particular, they will familiarise with the relevant literature and with the chief regulatory and institutional frameworks that characterise the financial  services industry. This will enable students to a) analyse detailed regulatory problems in financial services; b) discuss critically possible solutions to major financial difficulties in the area.
 

The module is delivered through 26 hours of lectures and 4 hours of seminars. Most lectures are conducted in an interactive way and students are highly encouraged to engage with the relevant discussions. Seminar attendance is an essential preparation for the final examination. Students are required to prepare the seminar questions by reading the relevant materials in advance of the seminar session.

A detailed reading list will be provided with each lecture handout. This will consist chiefly of journal articles, reports and cases. There is no textbook for this module. Some preliminary reading on financial markets and regulation can be done on some of the books in the library (for instance P.Wood "Law and Practice of International Finance" Sweet & Maxwell 2008), however these do not represent an essential or conclusive learning tool for this module.

What follows is a preliminary list of articles that will be used during the modules:

R. Weber "Mapping and Structuring International Financial Regulation: A Theoretical Approach", European Business Law Review 653 (2009) http://fspfinance.uzh. ch/papers/lawregfin/webermapping.pdfF.

Akinbami, (2011) "Financial services and consumer protection after the crisis" International Journal of Bank Marketing, Vol.29 Iss 2 pp. 134 - 147;

L.E. Mitchell "Financialism. A (very) Brief History", 2010, available at http://ssrn.com.abstract=1655739

E. Avgouleas "The Global Financial Crisis and the Disclosure Paradigm in European Financial Regulation: The Case for Reform", 6 European Company and Financial Law Review 2009;

V. Bavoso (2016) " Financial Innovation, Derivatives and the UK and UK Interest Rate Swap Scandals: Drawing New Boundaries for the Regulation of Financial Innovation", Vol. 7 Global Policy, forthcoming, available on ssrn.com;

E. Avgouleas "The Global Financial Crisis, Behavioural Finance and Financial Regulation: In Search of a New Orthodoxy" 23 Journal of Corporate Law Studies, Vol.1 part 9, 2009;

S.L. Schwarcz "Controlling Financial Chaos: The Power and Limits of Law", Wisconsin Law Review Issue 3, 2012;

F. Allen and E Carletti " The roles of banks in financial systems", March 2008, http://fic.wharton.upenn.edu/fic/papers/08/0819.pdf

V.Bavoso “Debt Capital Markets: Law, Regulation and Policy”, OUP 2024.

Information
Students wanting to write a dissertation or research paper in one of the topics related to this course will be provided with a list of possible titles. Alternatively, students can also present proposals for titles to be approved by the module's instructors.