CORE ELECTIVE ON BUSINESS LAW OBJECTS AND CONTENT OUTLINE

[Term III PGP 2013-2015]

Introduction:
Law is generally referred to as a set of rules that govern human behaviour towards ensuring social order. In
the context of commerce and business enterprises, legal principles and processes ought to provide a balanced
framework within which commercial activities of various kinds are facilitated, on the one hand to promote
entrepreneurship, and on the other to enhance and enforce norms of accountability. Given the challenges of global
economic trends, the increasingly complex nature of business operations and the need to evolve corresponding
regulations, a conceptual understanding of the legal environment is imperative.
Course objectives:
The course shall aim to provide an Indian and International perspective on the following:
a. Background understanding and overview of the nature and sources of law, and the governing legal and
judicial system; and
b. An insight into the working of the specific elements that constitute the domain of Business Law.
Course structure and content:
SESSION TOPIC
OBJECTS
CONTENT OUTLINE
THEME I: GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF LAW AND LEGAL SYSTEM [2 Sessions]
An Introduction to the - To enable basic understanding of legal - Law, Jurisprudence and the Constitution

SESSION TOPIC
working of the Legal
Systems
Legal
Process
and
Enforcement
of
Commercial Laws

OBJECTS
concepts and familiarity with terminologies
- To provide a comprehensive framework of
commercial laws
- To situate foundations of International
Business law

CONTENT OUTLINE
- Judicial Process and the System of Courts

- Basics of Civil and Criminal Procedure in

India
- Special Laws and Tribunals
- International Economic Law vis--vis
Indian Legal System
- Economic Crimes: Essential ingredients
THEME II: FORMATION AND ENFORCEMENT OF CONTRACTS [4 Sessions]
Fundamentals
of - To emphasize the legal basics of Contracts as - Basic Elements of Contract Law
Contract Law
fundamental instruments of enabling business
- Case law based understanding of
essential principles of valid contracts
Specific Principles of - To enable particular understanding on the Law relating to:
Contract Law
working of contractual principles
- Performance and Discharge of Contracts
- To discuss legal issues pertaining to emerging - Breach of Contract; Remedies and
forms of Contracts and associated liabilities
Damages
- PPP Contracts; Liabilities in Software
Licensing
THEME III: LAW GOVERNING HUMAN RESOURCES AND FORMS OF DISPUTE SETTLEMENT [2 Sessions]
Labour and Employment - To understand law regulating human - Basic components of Labour/Employment
Law
resources
Law
- Legal principles governing Service
Professionals
Alternative
Dispute - To be aware of the legal alternatives for - Emerging dispute management systems
Resolution
(ADR) dispute resolution
- Arbitration; Mediation and Conciliation
mechanisms
THEME IV: CORPORATE LAW AND GOVERNANCE AND EMERGING TRENDS IN COMPETITION LAW [6 Sessions]
Company Law and Legal - To provide an insight into the structure and - Legal principles in administration of
Framework
process of Company Law
Companies
- To acquaint with the emerging trends in - Law regulating forms of business entities
Corporate Law
like LLPs
- Corporate Criminal Liability
Legal
procedures
of
Corporate
reorganization
Corporate
Governance - To provide a sensitive understanding of ethical Legal
Framework
of
Corporate

SESSION TOPIC
and
Social
Responsibility

OBJECTS
principles of corporate governance and the
nature of their enforcement

Development
of
Competition Law: India
and International

- To provide an overview of specific principles of

competition law and the working of the
authority in India
THEME V: TECHNOLOGY AND THE LAW [6 Sessions]
- To provide basic exposure to Intellectual - Content and Scope of different kinds of
Property Rights
IPRs
- Patents, Copyrights, Trade Secrets
- Open Source Licensing regimes
- To emphasize growing significance of Cyber - Cyber Law Regime: Framework and
Laws
Process
- Data Protection and Privacy

Recognition
and
enforcement of IPRs
Cyber
Laws
Procedure

and

CONTENT OUTLINE
Governance
- Corporate Social Responsibility: Policy
and Process
- Directors: Status and Accountability
- Competition Law and emerging principles
- Enforcement of Competition law in India

Methodology of Course Delivery:

The Course shall be, given the extent of topical coverage, delivered mostly in lectures. Recognizing the
significance of case principles and judicial pronouncements in understanding basic elements of the law, the lectures
shall be liberally illustrated through leading Indian and International Court judgments on the issue. Case notes shall
be circulated in advance to certain sessions to aid in the understanding of the relevant issues and with an intention
to promote methods of legal reasoning.
Evaluation pattern:
Final Exam (Objective & Analytical)

60%

Take-home assignment Case Analysis

10% [Detailed guidelines shall be provided in a separate

document]

Group assignment Project Report

30% [Detailed guidelines shall be provided in a separate

document]
Attendance requirement: 75%
Suggested Readings:
Given below is a suggested topic-wise reading list of basic texts that are available for reference in our Library.
In addition, a set of weekly readings collected from various sources shall be circulated to all through emails or placed
on an accessible e-resource. Furthermore, as and when it is necessary, relevant journal articles shall be circulated as
readings for some of the sessions. It must be noted that these references are only for basic understanding of the
topics and not for the particular assignments. There are far more advanced and updated texts for the wide range
and extent of topics that may be chosen for the assignments. Students are encouraged to use the online database
subscriptions, such as, Manupatra, Hein Online and Lexis-Nexis, for the latest judgements and journal articles on
relevant topics. The presentations made by the Faculty shall be also distributed for reference.
TOPIC
General Principles of Law
and the Legal System
Fundamentals of Contract
Law
Specific
Principles
Contract Law

of

Company Law and Legal

Framework

BASIC TEXTS (available in IIMB Library)

- D.D.Basu, Constitutional Law of India (New
Delhi: Prentice-Hall, 1980)
- H.M.Seervai, Constitutional Law of India: A
Critical Commentary (Bombay: N.M.Tripathi, 1983)
Contract Law: Concept and its role in a
Developing Society (Master of Business Laws
Module, National Law School of India University,
Bangalore)
- Anson, Ansons Law of Contract (28th Edition,
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002)
- R.K. Bangia, Law of Contracts & Specific Relief
(Madras: Madras Law Journal Office, 1994)
- A. Ramaiya, et.al., Guide to the Companies Act
(16th Edition, New Delhi: Wadhwa & Co., 2004)

Corporate Governance and

Social Responsibility

Intellectual Property Law

Cyber Law
Labour
Law

and

Employment

- Robert Pennington, Company Law (London:

Butterworths, 1979)
- Avtar Singh, Company Law (Lucknow: Eastern
Book Company)
Fernando
A.C.,
Corporate
Governance:
Principles, Policies and Practices (New Delhi:
Pearson, 2006)
- Corporate Governance: Principles and
Paradigms
(Nagendra
Chowdhary
(ed.),
Hyderabad: ICFAI, 2002)
- P. Narayanan, Intellectual Property Law (New
Delhi: Eastern Law House, 1990)
- Gerald Ferrera (et. al.), Cyber Law: Text and
Cases (West Thomson, 2001)
- O. P. Malhotra, Law of Industrial Disputes 2
Volumes (5th Edition, New Delhi: Universal, 1998)
- Conciliation and Arbitration Procedures: A
Comparative Study (Geneva: International Labour
Office, 1984)