TE PIRINGA FACULTY OF LAW
Commercial Transactions 2015 Outline
1.
Identification of Paper
Paper: LAWS426-15B
This paper carries 20 points
2.
Staffing
Joel Manyam
(Convenor)
Phone: 8384466 extension 4918
Room: G.39
email:
jvam5@waikato.ac.nz
Availability: as advertised on office door
Dr Alberto Alvarez-Jimenez Phone: 8384466 extension 6309
Room: G. 25
email:
aalvarez@waikato.ac.nz
Availability: as advertised on office door
Dr Leo Liao
3.
Phone: 8384466 extension 8094
Room : G.38
Email : zliao@waikato.ac.nz
Description and Structure of Paper
An examination of the law on sale of goods, personal property securities, credit contracts and
consumer finance, and aspects of fair trading and consumer guarantees law.
(b) Structure of the Paper
This is a Semester B paper. The teaching component comprises two, 2 hour lectures per week.
Lecture timetable and rooms
The lecture hours are:
Lecture 1
Wednesday 5.00-7.00PM in Lecture theatre
Lecture 2
Thursday
6.00-8.00PM in Lecture theatre
S.G.02
S.G.02
4.
Learning outcomes
The course objectives are to provide students with an appreciation of the statutory rules and
where appropriate, relevant judicial interpretation of such rules in respect of the commercial sale
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of goods, the financing of such sales, credit contracts and consumer finance, fair trading and
consumer guarantees, to introduce students to a number of practical issues which arise for
consideration and determination in a range of commercial transactions and to enable students to
apply their knowledge of various statutory rules to given factual scenarios. It is also expected that
students will further develop their research skills as well as examination technique in
demonstrating their grasp of the application of the law relating to selected commercial
transactions.
A student who has completed the course successfully will be able to:
(a) Identify and apply to given fact scenarios, the statutory and common law rules that apply
to contracts governed by the Sale of Goods Act 1908.
(b) Identify and apply to given fact scenarios, relevant statutory rules in respect of the
financing of the commercial sale and purchase of goods, as provided for by the Personal
Property Securities Act 1999.
(c) Identify and apply, relevant statutory rules, relating to credit contracts and consumer
finance, as prescribed by the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003.
(d) Identify and apply relevant statutory rules that apply in respect of the conduct of traders
and merchants, pursuant to the Fair Trading Act 1986.
(e) Identify and apply relevant statutory rules that relate to the provision of consumer
guarantees in respect of both goods and services pursuant to the Consumer Guarantees
Act 1993
5.
Workload
Students should expect to spend 200 hours in total on this paper. In addition to lecture
attendance, significant time will need to be spent on background and complementary reading.
Students should allow for periods of more-focused research time in the preparation of
assignments.
6.
Required and Recommended Reading
All law students are required to purchase, for use in all law papers, a copy of McLay, Murray &
Orpin, New Zealand Law Style Guide, 2nd edition, Thomson Reuters (2011). This is available from
Bennetts, at an approximate price of $37 incl GST.
In addition to the texts identified below, the Faculty of Law requires that students purchase the
course materials book(s), of which there are TWO, for this paper. These are available from
Waikato Print.
Required
Paper materials- there are TWO materials books for this course.
Statutes
Consumer Guarantees Act 1993
Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003
Fair Trading Act 1986
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Personal Property Securities Act 1999
Sale of Goods Act 1908
Highly Recommended
Hawes, Butterworths Introduction to Commercial Law, Academic Edition, LexisNexis NZ Limited,
Wellington), 4th Edition 2014
Miller L., Understanding Commercial Law, 8th Edition, 2014, LexisNexis NZ Limited, Wellington
Allan, B., Personal Property Securities Act 1999: Act & Analysis, Thomson Reuters, Wellington,
2010
Tokeley K (ed), Consumer Law in New Zealand, 2nd Edition, 2014, LexisNexis NZ Limited,
Wellington
Recommended
Webb D., and Birkenshaw C., Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance in New Zealand, Brookers
Limited, Wellington, 2004.
Bevan B., Consumer Credit, LexisNexis NZ Limited, 2005
Of Interest
Malbon J and Nottage L(ed), Consumer Law & Policy in Australia and New Zealand, The
Federation Press, 2013
Sarah Summers & Stuart Walker, Lending and Securities-changes to consumer and commercial
credit laws, June 2012, New Zealand Law Society Continuing Legal Education Limited.
Further material may be provided on the paper site on Moodle (http://elearn.waikato.ac.nz), the
University of Waikato’s online learning system. Any such material is provided on the following
terms:
University of Waikato owns the intellectual property rights, including copyright, in and to this site,
or has acquired the necessary licenses to display the material on the site. As a student of the Te
Piringa Faculty of Law, you are granted a limited license to use (access, display or print a single
copy) the material from the papers in which you are enrolled for the purposes of participating in
the paper only, provided the information is not modified. Materials may not under any
circumstances be copied, stored, distributed or provided in any form or method whatsoever to
any third party. Any other use of the material is prohibited. None of the material may be
otherwise reproduced, reformatted, republished or re-disseminated in any manner or form
without the prior written consent of University of Waikato. To obtain such consent, please
contact the Te Piringa Faculty of Law.
7.
Online support
Online support for this paper is provided via Moodle.
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8.
Assessment
a)
Requirements for assessed work
Te Piringa Faculty of Law procedures for the presentation, submission and referencing of course
work are set out in the Te Piringa Faculty of Law Undergraduate Handbook @ p.33 which is
available from http://www.waikato.ac.nz/law/undergraduate.
Assignment resources are available online at http://www.waikato.ac.nz/law/student/
b)
Coursework: Final Examination Ratio:
c)
Assessment Components
40:60
Component
Percentage of overall mark
Due date
Opinion
40%
8th September 2015
Final Examination
60%
To be advised
The opinion is due to be submitted via MOODLE at any time on Tuesday 8th September 2105. The
opinion must be typed or word processed and must not exceed 4,000 words excluding footnotes.
This can be achieved by having the footnotes provided as end notes at the very end of the body of
your opinion. A bibliography must be furnished but will not be included in the specified word
limit. Any pages submitted which are over the word limit will not be marked. Students will be
expected to provide a legal opinion on hypothetical problems which will require the application of
legal principles that they have obtained knowledge of up to that point. Further information will be
provided with the assignment instructions, shortly after the commencement of Semester B.
Examination
The final examination will be a THREE (3) hour, OPEN book exam.
The opinion is an essential component for the assessment of the paper.
d)
Handing in, marking time and collection
All assignments must be submitted electronically through Moodle (http://elearn.waikato.ac.nz).
See
Te
Piringa
Faculty
of
Law
Undergraduate
Handbook,
available
at
http://www.waikato.ac.nz/law/undergraduate. It is the policy of Te Piringa Faculty of Law to
return marked work to students within five weeks of submission.
If you require assistance with Moodle, or encounter any problems, please contact the Help Desk.
You can send a message to Help Desk by using the instant message service in your paper (from
the participants list within the People block). Alternatively, you can email them directly at
help@waikato.ac.nz or call 838 4008.
e)
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Measurement of Achievement
Achievement in examinations and tests will be measured primarily in terms of levels of
understanding and knowledge gained. Achievement in assignments will be measured also in
terms of fluency and accuracy of expression and referencing.
Major deficiencies in structure, style, grammar and spelling will result in lower marks.
f)
Management of assessment deadlines, process for requesting extensions and special
consideration, and for appeals
(i)
Extensions
Students are required to complete and submit all internal assessments by specified dates. The
meeting of deadlines is a mark of professionalism and its enforcement is essential for fairness to
all students taking the paper. Handing in course work on or before the due date also facilitates
the timely return of marked work by academic staff. Students should meet requirements as to
time deadlines for course work, or make a request for an extension or special consideration in
appropriate circumstances (see Undergraduate Programmes Manual available from the Faculty of
Law Undergraduate website http://www.waikato.ac.nz/law/undergraduate/). Failure to comply
with requirements as to the time deadlines for internal assessment without having successfully
applied either for an extension or special consideration with supporting evidence before the due
date will result in deduction of 2.5 marks for each day the work is late. Lateness of more than a
week may result in the work not being marked. No deadlines may be extended beyond two
weeks after the last teaching day of the semester(s) in which the paper is taught as final grades
must go to the Board of Examiners at this time. Unless an extension in writing has been granted,
a lecturer may refuse to accept a piece of work which is submitted after the specified date, and
automatically award it no mark, or may lower the mark as a penalty for lateness.
Applications for extension, on the form obtainable from the Law Reception, must be submitted to
the Chief Examiner or nominee. Students should not submit the extension form to the lecturer,
nor should students seek extensions from the lecturer via other forms of communication.
Extensions will be granted only on evidence of illness, family bereavement, or serious personal
accidents or circumstances. Please note that too many assignments due at the same time is NOT
an acceptable reason, neither are claims that computers and/or printers have crashed. Account
will be taken of the time in which the student has had to complete the internal assessment before
the intervening event occurred. It will be important to consider if the grant of the extension will
give the student in question an unfair advantage over other students. A maximum period of 14
days will be given as an extension unless there are exceptional circumstances. In determining
applications the Chief Examiner or nominee may consult with the Convenor or lecturer of the
relevant paper.
When the Chief Examiner or nominee has made a decision on the application for extension, the
nominated Administrative Assistant will advise the student of the decision by email. Following
this, the extension form will be given to the relevant lecturer who will retain it until after the
assignment is marked and returned to students. The form will then be placed on the student’s
file. It should be noted that if an extension of longer than 14 days is granted, the assignment will
not be automatically printed out and delivered to the lecturer, therefore the lecturer is
responsible for ensuring the assignment is printed. In appropriate cases, when a student’s
application for extension is declined the Chief Examiner or nominee will inform the student of the
process for applying for special consideration.
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ii)
Special Consideration
The Assessment Regulations 2005 as set out in the University Calendar 2015 list in detail the
university-wide policies and procedures, which apply concerning missed examinations, impaired
performance or impaired preparation time for an examination, and missed or impaired course
work. Students are responsible for ensuring that they comply with these regulations. Application
forms for special consideration for internal assessment are available from law reception.
iii)
Appeals (University Calendar 2015, Assessment Regulations 2005, Reg. 24)
A student may appeal against any decision taken under these regulations.
An appeal, comprising a written statement of the circumstances of the appeal, together with
supporting evidence if available, must be submitted by the student in writing to the Head of
Student & Academic Services not more than seven days after the date on which notification of the
relevant decision is received.
Appeals under this section are considered and decided by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor by
delegated authority of the Education Committee.
A decision by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor is notified in writing, and is final.
iv) No electronic devices are allowed in any internal tests or exams.
v) If you wish to submit your Internal Assessment in Māori, you need to obtain an application
form from the Law Reception at least 14 days before the assessment is due.
vi) If you wish to apply to write your official exams in Māori, you need to complete the official
application form from the University’s Assessment Office.
(refer to the Policy on the Use of Māori for Assessment in the University Calendar)
9.
University Calendar Regulations and Policies
Your attention is drawn to the following regulations and policies, which are published in the
University Calendar 2015:
Assessment Regulations 2014
Change of Enrolment Regulations 2012
Student Discipline Regulations 2014
Computer Systems Regulations 2005
Policy on the Use of Māori for Assessment
Student Research Regulations 2008
Ethical Conduct in Human Research and Related Activities Regulations 2008.
10.
Links to other papers
The University of Waikato Calendar 2015, stipulates LAWS 204Contracts, as a prerequisite. This
paper supplements the core law papers with knowledge and skills essential to putting them into
practice. LAWS426-15B Commercial Transactions is NOT a compulsory course for the law degree.
The LL.B regulations permit students with a choice of studying course LAWS305-15Y Corporate
Entities, INSTEAD of LAWS426-15BCommercial Transactions.
11.
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Fees
Refer to http://calendar.waikato.ac.nz/admission/tableoffeesandcharges.html.
12.
(a)
(b)
(c)
Referencing guidelines and caution against plagiarism
Referencing must be in accordance with the New Zealand Law Style Guide (2nd Ed)
Thomson Reuters 2013.
All written work submitted for the purposes of assessment must be your own work.
Copying or paraphrasing all or part of another person’s work, be it published or
unpublished, without clear attribution, is plagiarism. Plagiarism is misconduct and is dealt
with under the disciplinary procedures of the University as outlined in the Student
Discipline Regulations 2014 in the University Calendar.
“Plagiarism means presenting as one’s own work the work of another, and includes the
copying or paraphrasing of another person’s work in an assessment item without
acknowledging it as the other person’s work through full and accurate referencing; it
applies to assessment presented through a written, spoken, electronic, broadcasting,
visual, performance or other medium.”
See section 3, Assessment Regulations (2015 Calendar)
The Te Piringa - Faculty of Law’s policy regarding plagiarism is in the Te Piringa - Faculty of
Law Undergraduate Handbook, available from:
http://www.waikato.ac.nz/law/undergraduate/.
13.
Health and safety
The Faculty of Law’s Health and Safety representative is to be advised in due course. Please report
the incident to the Law Reception - Room Law G.44 or call ext 4167.
14.
Class representation
Contact details for the Student Representation Coordinator, Academic Services Division, are as
follows: Jeanie Richards, Student Services, ext. 8221, email: student.reps@waikato.ac.nz.
Further information can be found at the Class Rep google site.
15.
Complaints procedures
The Student Complaints Procedures provides details of the University’s process for handling
concerns and complaints and is published in the University Calendar.
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Week Commencing
Programme of lecture topics
13 July (Semester B Starts)
Introduction to and Contextual framework
for Commercial Contracts
20 July
Law on commercial sale of goods
27 July
Law on commercial sale of goods
3 August
Personal property securities law
10 August
Personal property securities law
17 August
Personal property securities law
24 August
Teaching Recess
31 August
Teaching Recess
7 September
Credit contracts and consumer finance law
14 September (17 September Kingitanga Day)
Credit contracts and consumer finance law
only on Wednesday 16th September. No
lecture on Thursday 17th September on
account of Kingitanga Day
21 September
Credit contracts and consumer finance law
28 September
Fair trading law
5 October
Fair trading law
12 October
Consumer guarantees law and end of
semester revision class
19 October
Study Week
26 October (26 October Labour Day)
Examinations
2 November
Examinations
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