General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW6055 / JDOC6055 |
| Course name: | Law of International Finance I |
| Programme offered under: | LLM Programme / JD Programme |
| Semester: | First |
| Prerequisites: | No formal prerequisites. Non–LLM(CFL) or LLM(CR) students must have an understanding of the law of contract (or civilian law of obligations), or a professional background in finance or regulation. |
| Credit point value: | 9 credits / 6 credits |
1.2 Course description
Law of International Finance 1 examines the fundamentals of financial transaction formation and its connection with national and transnational law, financial innovation and contemporary commercial practices — that is, “How deals work”, and how law and regulation influence the decisions of banks and other intermediaries operating in organised markets.
The aims of the course are to (i) create from first principles a usable understanding of four elemental capital market transactions; and (ii) provide a common scholarly platform for those new to financial law or to common law practices. This includes consideration of the institutional incentives that influence the commercial actions of transaction parties; contract formation; why transactions succeed or fail; important regulatory settings; and the forms of documentation used to structure transactions and allocate commercial and legal risks.
Four generic transactions will be examined using examples of recent real applications — international syndicated loans; major currency bond issues and debt issuance programmes; green finance and asset–backed securities; and interest rate and currency swaps. Standardised forms of legal documentation and topical materials will be used throughout the course.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor | Paul Lejot | plejot@hku.hk | CCT 304 | Tue-Fri 1500-1800 by appointment |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 Develop a usable understanding of elemental debt capital market and financial derivatives transactions. This includes consideration of the parties involved and their commercial motives, contract formation, why transactions succeed or fail, the contracts used to structure transactions and allocate risks, and the impact of regulation on transaction design.
CLO 2 The use of generic transaction structures and documents will be accompanied by explanations of current transactions and entrenched commercial practices. With respect to legal doctrine and procedure, the course will provide an understanding of specific risks and the methods by which they are mitigated.
2.2 LLM and JD Programme Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
Please refer to the following link:
LLM – https://course.law.hku.hk/llm-plo/
JD – https://course.law.hku.hk/jd-plo/
2.3 Programme Learning Outcomes to be achieved in this course
| PLO A | PLO B | PLO C | PLO D | PLO E | PLO F | |
| CLO 1 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 2 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Assessment(s)
3.1 Assessment Summary
| Assessment task | Due date | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| Mid-term assignment | Class A due: 12 & 26 Oct 2023 Class B due: 11 & 25 Oct 2023 |
10% | 1, 5 | 1, 2 |
| Take home exam | 23 Dec 2023 | 90% | 1, 4, 5 | 1, 2 |
| *Feedback method (to be determined by course teacher) | |
| 1 | A general course report to be disseminated through Moodle |
| 2 | Individual feedback to be disseminated by email / through Moodle |
| 3 | Individual review meeting upon appointment |
| 4 | Group review meeting |
| 5 | In-class verbal feedback |
3.2 Assessment Detail
To be advised by course convenor.
3.3 Grading Criteria
Please refer to the following link: https://www.law.hku.hk/_files/law_programme_grade_descriptors.pdf
Learning Activities
4.1 Learning Activity Plan
| Lecture: | 3 hours / week for 11 teaching weeks |
| Private study time: | 9.5 hours / week for 11 teaching weeks |
Remarks: the normative student study load per credit unit is 25 ± 5 hours (ie. 150 ± 30 hours for a 6-credit course), which includes all learning activities and experiences within and outside of classroom, and any assessment task and examinations and associated preparations.
Learning Resources
5.1 Resources
| Reading materials: | Posted regularly at Moodle during the course |
| Core reading list: | TBA |
| Recommended reading list: | TBA |
5.2 Links
Please refer to the following link: http://www.law.hku.hk/course/learning-resources/