Teaching Plan Information

1. Course details

1.1. Content area

Seminario de Derecho Económico II: European Company and Insolvency Law

1.2. Course nature

Optional

1.3. Course level

Grado (EQF/MECU 6)

1.4. Year of study

466 - Graduado/a en Derecho: 4
731 - Graduado/a en Derecho y en Administración y Dirección de Empresas (2019): 6
686 - Graduado/a en Derecho (2016): 4

1.5. Semester

First semester

1.6. ECTS Credit allotment

6.0

1.7. Language of instruction

English

1.8. Prerequisites

Having spoken and written fluency in English. Classes will be taught in English. All the materials will be available in English. Oral and written presentations must be made in English.

1.9. Recommendations

-

1.10. Minimum attendance requirement

Attendance to classes, both lectures and seminars, is mandatory. Attendance to tutorial session is also mandatory.

1.11. Faculty data

Course Coordinator:

Prof. Dr. Mauricio Troncoso Reigada.

Email: mauricio.troncoso@uam.es

Faculty of Law. Department of Private Law

Office: núm. 45 (4th Floor. Law School)

Tel: +34 91 497 83 70

The other lecturer is:

Prof. Dra. Nuria Bermejo Gutiérrez

Email: nuria.bermejo@uam.es

Faculty of Law. Department of Private Law

Office: núm. 1 (4th Floor. Law School)

Tef. +34 91 497 830 04

Delegado/a del Decano para la titulación:

Antonio Arroyo (Grado en Derecho)

coordinacion.grado.derecho@uam.es

Aurora Martínez (Doble Grado en Derecho y ADE)

aurora.martinez@uam.es

1.12. Competences and learning outcomes

1.12.1. Competences

1. General objectives:

G1. To acquire a critical attitude towards reality and towards ideas. To develop an open mind and an interest towards intellectual work and its outcomes.
G3. To be able to express and transmit in an adequate way complex ideas, problems and solutions, both orally and in a written form, to both specialized and non-specialized audiences. 
G5. To be able to search, select, analyze and synthesize information on academically relevant topics so as to formulate evaluations based on personal reflections. 

2. Specific objectives:

E3. To understand the basic concepts of European Company and Insolvency Law
E5. To search, analyze and sum up the European Company and Insolvency Law information.
E7. To acquire the necessary skills for discuss with a legal argumentation on complex theoretical issues.
E10. To explain orally in a complex comprehensible legal argumentations.

1.12.2. Learning outcomes

-

1.12.3. Course objectives

1.13. Course contents

1. General Objectives

The course aims to:

-Learn and discuss complex legal ideas and theories on European Company Law and Insolvency Law.

-Build on students’ skills by developing abilities in legal reasoning, research, legal writing and critical analysis of complex legal texts.

-Produce independent learners who have the ability to access and manipulate legal resources and who can plan and manage their workload effectively.

-Develop students’ abilities to communicate complex legal concepts that apply within the areas of Company Law and Insolvency Law.

2. Specific Objectives

This Course reflects the rapid growth in the development of corporate and insolvency law practice in Spain, in the European Union and, even, globally. The Course will consider the most important aspects of Company Law and Insolvency Law, assessing international influences that impact on these areas of law. In particular, it offers the opportunity to concentrate on the study of legal responses for business organisations and the incidence of insolvency in the corporate context. Among other issues, it will focus on the form and formation of companies, share capital, corporate bodies,  management of companies’ assets, liabilities and obligations, as well as on preventive restructuring arrangements and insolvency provisions related to companies –i.e., cramdown, wrongful trading, etc.-. A particular attention will be paid to EU Law –i.e., EU Company Directives; the Proposal for a Directive on preventive restructuring frameworks, second chance and measures to increase the efficiency of restructuring, insolvency and discharge procedures-.

The Course will be divided in two main parts. The first part is related to Company Law, and the second part is related to Insolvency Law. These parts will be taught and assessed independently by each lecturer.

This course will help the students to acquire a significant level of knowledge and to develop a critical insight into these areas of specialism

3. SYLLABUS

A syllabus will be available at Moodle website at the beginning of the semester.

4. STRUCTURE

A. Lectures

This Course will consist of lectures, aiming to teach theoretical aspects and practical skills on both Company Law and Insolvency Law.

Students will be provided with learning materials to be read prior to attending lectures. Such preparatory work will provide the stimulus for class-based discussion and analysis.

B. Seminars

This Course will also consist of Seminars, aiming to discuss and analyse different cases, which will be individually resolved by students. The number of Seminars will be specified at a later date.

Students will be provided with preparatory work to be undertaken prior to attending seminars. Students will be asked to contribute to and to lead discussions and may be asked to present a pre- prepared paper to the class.

C. Tutorial sessions

This Course will consist of 1 Tutorial session.

1.14. Course bibliography

• General Reading List

Andenas, M. European comparative company law, 2009.

Baird, D.G., The Elements of Bankruptcy, 6th edition, 2014, Foundation Press.

Goode, R., Principles of Corporate Insolvency Law, 4th edition, 2011, Sweet & Maxwell.

Jackson, T.H., The Logic and Limits of Bankruptcy Law, 1986; Harvard University Press.

Kraakman, R.R et alt, The Anatomy of Corporate Law. A Comparative and Functional Approach, 2004, OUP.

The World Bank, Principles for effective insolvency and creditor/debtor regimes, 2016, available at http://pubdocs.worldbank.org/en/919511468425523509/ICR-Principles-Insolvency-Creditor-Debtor-Regimes-2016.pdf

Viera, J. – Teichmann, C., Private company law reform in Europe: the race for flexibility, 2015.

• Other Resources

http://ec.europa.eu/justice/civil/company-law/eu-company-law/index_en.htm

http://ec.europa.eu/justice/civil/company-law/corporate-governance/index_en.htm

http://ec.europa.eu/justice/civil/commercial/insolvency/index_en.htm

2. Teaching-and-learning methodologies and student workload

2.1. Contact hours

A. Lectures:

These sessions will provide students with a wide knowledge of both European Company Law and European Insolvency Law and a general understanding of them. Theoretical aspects and practical skills on the abovementioned areas of law will be taught by means of the lecturers’ presentations and students’ interaction. Students must have read learning materials provided prior to attending lectures. Such preparatory work will provide the stimulus for class-based discussion of specific topics and analysis.

By the end of the Course, students should be able to:

-to systematically and comprehensively analyse the abovementioned areas of law;
-to appraise these areas of law and to pursue advanced studies on them;
-to apply law in these areas of law;
-to take into consideration wider factors that may have influenced these particular areas of law, such as political, economic and sociological factors;
-to locate and define international influences that impact these areas of law.

B. Seminars:

These sessions focus on the discussion and analysis of different cases, which must be individually resolved by students. In each session, students will have the chance to present their solutions to the cases and discuss them with their colleagues under lecturers’ supervision. This is a good opportunity for students to receive both academic and peer feedback on their work and their progress.

Cases will be turned in for assessment.

As a result, by the end of the Course, students should have acquire the following skills, qualities and attributes:

-Research, to a basic level, within the context of European Company Law and European Insolvency Law;
-Communicate complex legal concepts that apply within these areas of specialism;
-Deploy a develop skills base including those of
-information gathering;
-critical analysis and examination;
-advanced argument formulation;
-handling of a wide variety of information and legal materials;
-formulation of own arguments and opinions;
-responsibility from own learning.

C. Support Tutorial Sessions:

The purpose of these sessions is to clarify theoretical and practical issues related to Company Law and Insolvency Law. They will also provide a particular opportunity to answer students’ doubts concerning specific topics on these areas and the development of the course. They will also give students the chance to obtain useful recommendations for preparing the cases and the final exam.

2.2. List of training activities

3. Evaluation procedures and weight of components in the final grade

3.1. Regular assessment

• Ordinary Examination Session:

The subject consists on two parts, that is, European Company Law and European Insolvency Law, which will be assessed separately by each Lecturer as follows:

Relevant Activities for Assessment
Final Exam (each part) 70 %
Continuous Assessment (each part) 30 %
TOTAL 100%

The final exam will consist on a written test, whose format will be specified at a later date.

The marks in each part of the subject represent 50% of the final mark.

3.1.1. List of evaluation activities

3.2. Resit

• Extraordinary Examination Session:

The second-chance exam will be similar to the final exam.

• Students Enrolled for a Second Time:

The marks corresponding to the Continuous Assessment obtained in previous enrolments will not be kept in second and successive enrolments.

3.2.1. List of evaluation activities

4. Proposed workplan

Check proposed workplan at Moodle website.