This course introduces the foundations of debtor-creditor law, including the law of personal bankruptcy under the Bankruptcy Act 1966 and corporate insolvency under chapter 5 of the Corporations Act 2001.  The course covers pre-insolvency debtor-creditor practice, liquidation of insolvent entities, and rehabilitation of distressed debtors.  The course will follow a systems-approach to the material.  This means that the course emphasises the broad purposes and mechanisms at each stage of an insolvency from a practical standpoint.  The largest amount of time in this course will be spent on liquidations in individual bankruptcy.  This course will also look at pre-insolvency debtor-creditor relations, and reorganisation alternatives to liquidation.  Students completing this course should be fluent in the special terminology of debtor-creditor law and familiar with the conceptual building-blocks of insolvency.  The course will be very useful for a variety of students including those seeking to go into commercial business or law practice, people planning on operating a small business at some time, future consumer and family lawyers, and anyone with an over-extended credit card.  Because insolvency law incorporates a huge variety of other substantive law areas within its gamut (including property law, contracts, torts, commercial law, corporate law, consumer protection law and family law), policy concerns in these areas will also be discussed.

Details of the final assessment will be provided on the course home page by the first week of semester.

Three hours per week.

Corporations Law LAWS2203. 
Completed or completing five LAWS courses at 1000 level.

Please refer to LAWS2209 course home page.

This is a commercial law elective course, therefore, Commercial Law, Banking and Finance, and Property will all be helpful.  However, the course will be taught with no assumption of having taken these courses.