The degree is awarded on the basis of nine final examinations at the end of the three-year course (or four years in the case of Law with Law Studies in Europe). Phase II of the Final Honour School includes the first and second term of the final year; the Final Examinations are taken in the third term of the final year.

Part of the fascination of commercial law springs from its responsiveness to the changing needs of the business community. Through the ingenuity of those in business and their legal advisers new instruments and procedures are constantly being devised which have to be tested for their legal effect against established principles of the law of property and obligations. The core of the course involves a rigorous examination of personal property law in the context of commercial transactions, together with contractual issues of central importance to commercial transactions. The first part of the course looks at issues related to the sale of goods, such as implied terms, transfer of property and title disputes with third parties. Basic principles of commercial transactions, such as assignment, agency and possession are then examined. The last part of the course looks at real security in personal property, including priorities (between secured interests) and the characterisation of, and justification for, real security. There are also lectures covering negotiable instruments and documents of title to goods. A feature of the whole course is that the student learns how a desired legal result can be achieved, or a legal hazard avoided, by selection of an appropriate contract structure. Though students will be expected to analyse statutory materials as well as case law, a distinguishing feature of the course is its concentration on fundamental concepts and their application in a commercial setting. The course thus offers an intellectual challenge and provides a good foundation for those contemplating practice in the field of commercial law.

A one-year sample of courses from our BA programmes, aimed only at students visiting from our partner universities.

Part of the fascination of commercial law springs from its responsiveness to the changing needs of the business community. Through the ingenuity of those in business and their legal advisers new instruments and procedures are constantly being devised which have to be tested for their legal effect against established principles of the law of property and obligations. The core of the course involves a rigorous examination of personal property law in the context of commercial transactions, together with contractual issues of central importance to commercial transactions. The first part of the course looks at issues related to the sale of goods, such as implied terms, transfer of property and title disputes with third parties. Basic principles of commercial transactions, such as assignment, agency and possession are then examined. The last part of the course looks at real security in personal property, including priorities (between secured interests) and the characterisation of, and justification for, real security. There are also lectures covering negotiable instruments and documents of title to goods. A feature of the whole course is that the student learns how a desired legal result can be achieved, or a legal hazard avoided, by selection of an appropriate contract structure. Though students will be expected to analyse statutory materials as well as case law, a distinguishing feature of the course is its concentration on fundamental concepts and their application in a commercial setting. The course thus offers an intellectual challenge and provides a good foundation for those contemplating practice in the field of commercial law.

This new course aims to provide an in-depth understanding of remedies in a commercial context, interpreting that phrase in a wide sense. So it will cover remedies for civil wrongs (ie, breach of contract, tort and equitable wrongs) but will exclude any direct consideration of damages for personal injury and death. The course will build on knowledge which all law undergraduates ought to have and, in some areas, will enable students to look in greater depth at matters dealt with at undergraduate level. The approach will be avowedly traditional in that the focus will be on case analysis and doctrine. As with the Restitution of Unjust Enrichment course, with which this will dovetail, the anticipation is that developments at the cutting edge of the law will be constantly debated. An important and novel aspect of the course will be to discuss alongside remedies for the common law wrongs of breach of contract and torts, remedies for the equitable wrongs, such as breach of fiduciary duty.