LAW7014 - Secured finance and related transactions

Leader: Professor Michael Bridge

Offered

Not offered in 2007

Synopsis

This subject will cover the concepts of secured finance in Anglo-Australian law. It will examine the legal incidents of the mortgage, charge, pledge and lien and the legal consequences of this conceptual classification of transactions. It will also consider related transactions such as set-off, flawed asset arrangements, retention of title clauses, various forms of guarantees and letters of comfort. Current legal issues in a range of security and quasi-security transactions such as floating charges and fixed charges will be dealt with as well as some discussion of priorities, disputes under the current system and posssible directions for reform of the existing law.

Objectives

Upon completion of this subject students should

1. have a thorough understanding of the Australian common law's conceptual framework of security interests;
2. be able to differentiate between transactions which create real security and those which do not and understand the legal and practical consequences of that classification;
3. have acquired an understanding of the principal common law (and some statutory) security interests and quasi-security devices, the rights that attach to them and their relative strengths and weaknesses;
4. have acquired a basic understanding of alternative legal regimes for security interests such as United States Uniform Commercial Code Article 9 and be able to understand and evaluate policy arguments for and against legislative reform of Australia's law of security interests;
5. be able to identify or find relevant principles, laws and precedents and apply them to resolve current problems relating to a range of security and quasi-security transactions; and
6. have further developed skills of legal research and writing, legal argument and oral presentation in an interactive seminar context.

Assessment

Research paper (3750 words): 50% , Take-Home Examination (3,000 words): 40%, Class participation: 10%

Contact hours

Intensive