Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE CML2010

 
TITLE Duties of Traders and Commercial Intermediaries

 
UM LEVEL 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course

 
MQF LEVEL 5

 
ECTS CREDITS 4

 
DEPARTMENT Commercial Law

 
DESCRIPTION This study-unit provides an overview of the legal duties of traders listed in the Commercial Code relating to the keeping of trade books, the publication of marriage contracts, and the limits of competition. It also covers the duties of traders to keep trade books, including the obligatory and optional trade books and shall examine the probatory force of such trade books.

The unit will also explain to students the duty of a notary upon receiving a marriage contract or any deed varying such contract between persons when any one of them is a trader.

It will also cover in detail the limits of competition between traders and the action of unfair competition as follows:
- historical development;
- general characteristics and considerations;
- a detailed study of the various acts of unfair competition including: the unlawful use of names, marks or distinctive devices, false indication of origin of goods, the spreading of news prejudicial to other traders; and
- the action of unfair competition and the remedies available.

N.B. The unit is based on the legal provisions contained in Title II of Part 1 of the Maltese Commercial Code, namely articles 13 to 37.

The Unit will examine the categories laid down in the Commercial Code and commercial practice of persons auxiliary to trade especially commercial intermediaries including commercial intermediaries and other actors such as:
- Agency in General (Rappresentanza) including the powers of representation and the notion of acting in the name of and for and on behalf of another person;
- Manager, and the juridical nature, functions and powers of this post;
- Commercial Travellers and Salesmen - juridical nature, functions and powers;
- Commercial Agents - juridical nature, functions and powers; legal regulation;
- Brokers - juridical nature, functions and powers; legal regulation;
- Commission Merchants - juridical nature, functions and powers;
- Distributor - juridical nature.

N.B. The unit is largely based on the legal provisions contained in Title IV of Part 1 of the Maltese Commercial Code namely articles 49 to 109.

Study-unit Aims

- To enable students to understand the various specific contracts and to be able to analyse the different juridical figures which provide an intermediary function in trade, a role which is essential both to business to business transactions and to business to consumers transactions;
- To introduce students to the notion of fair competition in Commerce and the relation of the relevant provisions to the more recent rules governing fair competition.

Learning Outcomes

1. Knowledge & Understanding:
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- Master familiarity with important legal provisions relating to various specific contracts and juridical figures which serve an intermediary function in trade;
- Undertake a detailed study of Maltese law relating to unfair competition between traders and relation of these rules to more recent fair competition legislation;
- More generally, continue to build and develop his/her knowledge of the basic notions underlying the carrying out of business activities in Malta which will remain of relevance in any practice of commercial Law in their eventual career.

2. Skills:
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- Build further on earlier study units in Commercial law and thereby develop a fuller understanding of aspects of the Law with particular reference to the duties imposed by the Commercial Code on persons who in terms of law acquire the status of a trader;
- Be introduced to the notion of unfair competition which will be necessary for better appreciation of a later study unit which deals specifically with competition law.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings

- Commercial Code

 
ADDITIONAL NOTES Students taking this study-unit need to have a background in law.

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Lecture

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Assessment Due Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Examination (2 Hours) SEM1 Yes 100%

 
LECTURER/S Tiziana Filletti

 

 
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints.
Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice.
It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

https://www.um.edu.mt/course/studyunit