Learning objectives
a) knowledge and understanding: The course has three parts. The first presents EU financial constitution with particular focus on law of firms and consumer protection and freedom of choice. The second part presents financial laws, their organizational structure and supervision. We focus on guidelines covering bank, insurance, financing and investment activities, as well as regulation of banks, insurance firms, financial intermediaries and investment firms and managers. Lastly we cover regulated and non-regulated markets, their workings and forms of management and supervision. The third part presents the basics of contractual autonomy and consumer protection, focusing on legislation of consumer contracts and products and services in the bank, insurance and financial sectors. We examine legislation on unfair practice and terms, transparency in bank insurance and financial contracts and in distance financial service contracts.
b) applying knowledge and understanding: Students acquire basic knowledge of the European economic system, the financial system and contracts used by banks, insurance and financial intermediaries.
c) making judgements: Students learn to make independent evaluations of private law issues particularly relating to contracts for banking, financial service and investment products, combined insurance- financial products from financial intermediaries and how to supply these bodies and their clients with solutions to problems in private law.
d) communication skills: Students learn how to communicate within the intermediary firm and with other firms and end users and in bank and financial services (firms and consumers) in particular regarding the organization and market supply of such products.
e) learning skills: Students acquire an independent capacity to make legal evaluations in the light of, and with the aim of, applying legislation.
Prerequisites
Knowledge of private and business law
Course unit content
The course presents the Italian - European legal system of banks, financial intermediaries and their market organization, and the end market system of bank, insurance and financial services
Full programme
Full Programme
PART I - THE EUROPEAN SYSTEM.
The European economic constitution.
The competition regime.
The protection of the company and consumer freedom of choice
Technical contractual autonomy in secondary legislation.
PART II - FINANCIAL AND CONTROL LAW SYSTEM.
The financial law system.
Summit organizational structure
The supervisory system
Banking, insurance, financial and investment activities
Banks.
Insurance.
Financial intermediaries.
Investment firms and managers.
Regulated and unregulated markets.
Management companies.
Supervision.
PART III – THE END MARKET
Consumer protection
The rules governing unfair practice in transactions between businesses and consumers.
Unfair contract terms in consumer contracts.
Transparency in consumer contracts.
Bank contracts.
Insurance contracts.
Financial market contracts
Distance marketing of financial services.
For students enrolled on previous degree courses, the current syllabus of Financial Market Law now replaces exams of the same name from previous courses, irrespective of the number of hours previously allotted
Bibliography
LUCA DI NELLA, Diritto dei mercati finanziari. Profili istituzionali e contrattuali, Parma, most recent edizione. The book comprises the complete syllabus for the examination.
Texts of legislation are available from online sources, including the Consob and Banca d’Italia websites which supplies the updated national regulations on banks, intermediaries and markets.
Teaching methods
Theoretical and practical classroom lectures lessons with information and exercises by university teachers and specialists including overseas experts
Acquiring knowledge – class lectures
Learning to apply skills – exercises and practice
Acquiring independent evaluation skills – case studies
Acquiring learning skills – description of topic and critical examination of legislation applied
Acquiring technical language – legal terminology is explained and applied during the course
Assessment methods and criteria
The final exam is a one hour written paper consisting of five open questions printed on two sides of an A4 sheet.
The use of any type of text, books, notes phones, media etc. is not permitted.
Students passing the written paper may request by email an optional supplementary oral exam on fixed exam dates, which can raise or lower the mark from the written questions by a maximum of two marks.
Answers will be assessed overall for knowledge, the ability to apply knowledge, the capacity to communicate with appropriate technical language and terminology, independence of judgment and capacity to learn. The optional oral exam will be assessed on the same criteria. With each criterion carrying a maximum of six marks, which will be added together for a possible final maximum total of thirty plus an eventual distinction when the exam results more than excellent.
Other information
Additional seminars on topics covered in the course may be held according to the availability of external specialists.
See the professor’s webpage for supplementary material, including material for the preparation of the exam.
2030 agenda goals for sustainable development
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