BFA601 Business And Corporate Law

INSTRUCTIONS: You are required to prepare and write your own research paper discussing a contemporary development in business law and corporate law based on one topic of your choice. You may choose to address any topic of your interest that concerns a contemporary development in business law and corporate law OR you may choose one of the suggested topics listed below.

Your research paper must be appropriately referenced using Harvard Referencing Style (as set out on pages 10-11 of the Unit Outline). Research papers should follow the structure set out below.

Word limit: Research papers must be between 1,000 and 1,500 words including in-text references (but excluding the reference list at the end of the paper).

Submission: Please submit an electronic copy via the submission folder in MyLO. Your submissions will be checked for academic dishonesty through the Turnitin Software.

Weighting: This assignment is worth 45% of your overall grade for this unit and will be assessed in accordance with the marking rubric provided below.

Due Date: This assessment piece is due at 11.59pm on 19 May 2022.

SUGGESTED TOPICS

Write a research paper on any topic of your interest that concerns a contemporary development in business law and corporate law OR on one of the following proposed topics/questions.

Use at least 3 and a maximum of 5 resources, which may include cases, book chapters, journal articles, regulator guidance, or law reform reports, and may include law firm briefing notes (not more than 1).

1. Misleading conduct and penalties: In proceedings brought by the ACCC, the Federal Court recently ordered Trivago to pay penalties of $44.7 million for making misleading representations about hotel room rates on its website and in television advertising. Why was Trivago’s conduct misleading and what factors will be relevant in ascertaining the penalty awarded?
2. Directors’ duties to take account of climate change/climate risks: Company directors are under increasing pressure to respond to climate change risks – both in terms of the physical and transitional risks that climate change raises. What strategies have been suggested as relevant for company directors in considering, managing and reporting climate change risk?
3. The new small business restructuring regime: On 10 December 2020, the Federal Government introduced a small business insolvency reform. The aim of this regime is to allow the directors of eligible small business control of the business while restructuring debt. Why was the regime thought necessary and what are its key elements?
4. Cyber security and IoT: The Commonwealth Government has released a voluntary code of practice for IoT devices: https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/reports-and-publications/submissions-and-discussion-papers/code-of-practice. What reputational and legal factors (such as the law of negligence or the Australian Consumer Law) might influence a firm’s decision to comply with these standards?
5. Incorporation of terms: Passengers and family members of people who became ill while aboard the cruise ship the Ruby Princess are bringing a class action claiming damages on the basis of negligence and breach of the Australian Consumer Law. In Karpik v Carnival PLC (The Ruby Princess) (Stay Application) [2021] FCA 1082, Justice Stewart in the Federal Court refused to stay (or stop) the proceedings of US and UK passengers seeking to participate in a class action against it. The reasons was that the relevant clauses on which the Ruby Princess sought to rely in disputing the rights of those passengers to bring the action were not incorporated into the contracts for the carriage of those passengers. Discuss the finding on incorporation of terms and its implications for commercial practice. What did Stewart J say about whether the clause was an unfair term?

STRUCTURE

Use the following headings and sections to structure your research paper:

Research paper title

[Student ID number]

1. Introduction

[Brief context and overview of your paper, including description of the topic/question you are answering and a description of your research methodology (how you conducted your research for this paper).]

[Summary of your aims and objectives for the paper, eg summary of the arguments you make in the rest of the paper about what contemporary development(s) are raised by the topic and why business professionals should be aware of them.]

2. Relevant business law and/or corporate law concepts

[Identify, describe and explain the business and/or corporate law concepts that you have studied in this unit which are relevant to the topic and your argument, eg, particular elements of business law or corporations law that arise. Where appropriate, refer to legislation including Corporations Act and the common law.]

3. Findings and discussion

[State your answer to the topic/question and then make arguments in support of your answer.]

[For each argument, you should draw connections with the business law and/or corporate law concepts you identified in section 2 above. For each argument, you should also include data or other information from one or more relevant citations to journal articles, book chapters or other sources that support your point.]

4. Conclusion

[Summarise your conclusion in response to the topic/question and reflect on issues that may require more research.]

5.      Reference List

[List of references as per Harvard Referencing Style]