Authorised by Academic Registrar, April 1996
Objectives Students completing this subject will (1) acquire an understanding of the Australian financial and banking system; (2) be familiar with the general principles of law governing the Australian payments system and negotiable instruments with particular emphasis on cheques; (3) appreciate the legal relationship that exists between customers and their banks and the duties owed to each other; (4) attain a sound grasp of the day to day issues that can arise between banks and customers such as wrongful conversion of cheques, confidentiality, combinations of accounts and appropriation of payments and recovery of money paid mistakenly; (5) be familiar with the banking ombudsman system and mediation of banker-customer disputes; (6) learn to solve problems arising out of the application of statute and case-law to specific banker-customer transactions; (7) identify emerging trends of bankers' liability especially the impact of consumer protection legislation to banking business.
Synopsis The following areas will be covered: (1) deregulation of the financial system and statute law relating to banks and other financial institutions; (2) the payments system, electronic banking and the law governing negotiable instruments and cheques; (3) legal definitions of `banker' and `customer', the relationship between the parties and their super-added obligations and reciprocal duties; (4) bank's duty of secrecy, right to combine accounts, the lien, bank opinions, garnishee orders and Mareva injunctions and how the banker-customer relationship is terminated; (5) bank lending and securities and (6) branch banking and law governing bank staff.
Assessment Written assignment (3000-4000 words): 25% + Final examination (3 hours plus 30 minutes reading and noting time): 75%