LEGL201 - Company Law: Directors and Corporate Regulation

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

LEGL101 Introduction to Business Law: Legal Frameworks for Businesses

Teaching organisation

150 hours over a twelve-week semester or equivalent study period

Unit rationale, description and aim

This unit covers the law regulating corporations within Australia. Students will learn the relevant rules duties and law that governs corporations and directors. The aim of the unit is to teach students relevant problem-solving skills, to analyse relevant legal problems in context and to develop persuasive and coherent arguments. This technique is of general application to working with law and so will benefit students in their later professional lives, and help put company law into proper perspective.

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - Explain the legal issues that impact business organisations and sustainable value for business and society at large, considering an inclusive and sustainable global economy (GA3, GA5)

LO2 - Discuss the interaction between common law and statute law (GA4, GA5)

LO3 - Explain the current status of corporations’ law within Australia (GA5)

LO4 - Analyse legal problems in a business context and commercial setting (GA5, GA8)

Graduate attributes

GA3 - Apply ethical perspectives in informed decision making

GA4 - Think critically and reflectively

GA5 - Demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession

GA8 - Locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information

Content

Topics will include: 

• Legal capacity, legal personality, professional responsibility, general duty of care
• Characteristics of a Company
• Partnerships, joint ventures, trading trusts
• Co-operatives and other legal entities
• The Company Constitution
• Company’s Relations with Outsiders
• Share Capital, Membership and Dividends
• Directors and Corporate Governance
• Directors’ Duties: Good Faith
• Directors’ Duties: Duty of Care, Skill & Diligence
• Directors’ Duties & Conflicts of Interest
• Members’ Meetings and Members’ remedies
• Liquidation

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

Mode of delivery:

The unit will be offered in different modes, namely “Attendance” mode “Blended” mode and “Online” mode.

Attendance Mode

Lectures, tutorials and/or workshops will require face-to-face attendance on campus. Learning and teaching strategies will include lectures being used to introduce and explore concepts and issues. Tutorials and workshops will enhance understanding and develop skills. They will involve guided discussion, demonstration problems and case studies.

Blended Mode

In the blended mode, the unit will involve a mix of face-to-face and online delivery. The blended mode of delivery provides for flexible learning including recorded lectures and assessments delivered online.

ACU Online

This unit uses an active learning approach to support students in the exploration of knowledge essential to the discipline. Students are provided with choice and variety in how they learn. Students are encouraged to contribute to asynchronous weekly discussions. Active learning opportunities provide students with opportunities to practice and apply their learning in situations similar to their future professions. Activities encourage students to bring their own examples to demonstrate understanding, application and engage constructively with their peers. Students receive regular and timely feedback on their learning, which includes information on their progress.

Assessment strategy and rationale

A range of assessment procedures will be used to meet the unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes consistent with University assessment requirements. Such procedures may include, but are not limited to: essays, reports, online quizzes, examinations, student presentations, tutorial participation and engagement or case studies.

Overview of assessments

Attendance and Blended Mode;

ACU Online

Representative texts and references

Harris J, Hargovan A, Adams M, Australian Corporate Law, 6th Edition, Lexis Nexis Australia, 2018.

Harris J., Corporations Law – Butterworths Questions and Answers series, 4th ed., Lexis Nexis Butterworths, 2013.

Hanrahan, Ramsay & Stapledon, Commercial Applications of Company Law, 19th Edition, OUP, 2018.

Lipton, Herzberg, Welch, Understanding Company Law, 19th Edition, 2018 Thompson Reuters, NSW.

Commonwealth legislation

www.comlaw.gov.au

Federal Acts and Regulations

Austlii

http://www.austlii.edu.au

Federal, State and Territory court decisions, Acts and Regulations

FindLaw

http://www.findlaw.com.au

Coverage of cases and articles on legal subject areas

High Court 

https://www.hcourt.gov.au/

High Court decisions 

ASIC 

http://www.asic.gov.au

Australian Securities and Investments Commission

ASX

http://www.asx.com.au

Australian Securities Exchange