Australian Commercial and Corporations Law

Assignment 2

This assessment tests course objectives addressing:

Knowledge of relevant law,

Application of the law to factual business situations, and

Use of critical and analytical thinking skills,

Defend your analysis in professional or legal settings.

Please read the question carefully as well as the marking rubric supplied separately. Make sure you clearly understand the mark allocation for each question and the word limit.

Instruction to complete assessment tasks:

This assignment involves researching a problem, using critical thinking to reach a resolution after finding relevant information to address the question.

To research a problem you must know where to find the law, and choose what is most relevant to your research challenge. Research is a skill that requires practice. You must think about the parameters of the problem you are researching. You do not have the time to address everything you may find on your research topic. You must do a literature search on the most relevant and important sources of information on your topic. Then you must have a research methodology, which is your mode of inquiry. This is the approach taken to research the problem and address the research question. This explains how you are analyzing data to address your research question. It must demonstrate that this method will answer the question identified.

You have two problem scenarios and you must identify the research question and do a review of the relevant literature on the topic. Then you must explain your research methodology. The research question is within the assessment task, but it needs restating in your answer. You must then succinctly discuss the relevant law. Because of word limitations, part of the assessment rubric involves your ability to state the relevant law succinctly. Blaise Pascal the philosopher mathematician once apologized to someone for writing ‘such a long letter since he did not have time to write a short one.’ In other words, it takes time to be able to develop brevity without losing content depth. Think about this.

The research methodology is how you address the question in terms of analyzing the relevant information and how you use it to answer the problem. To make it easier I suggest for your research methodology at a minimum, (1) state you will find relevant case law precedents (primary source) and relevant data from academic texts (secondary sources) to address the question. Then I suggest you identify key questions you consider relevant in determining the answer to the research question. This will form the core of your research methodology, but please feel free to add to this to build up your methodology if you think it relevant to do so.

Word count and form – maximum of 1000 words for each question. Format requires cover page with plagiarism declaration, and it is essay style

Assessment task

Trusts (this part is worth 15 marks)

The course includes the study of trusts - a complex area of the law. The creation of an express trust (i.e. one intended created and not arising by law or fact) requires ‘three certainties.’ They are;

Certainty of intention

Certainty of subject matter (trust property)

Certainty of object (beneficiary or purpose)

Scenario

Basil declared himself trustee of 5% of the issued share capital of Basil Electrical Co Pty Ltd. There were 1000 shares in the company. There was no further identification of the 50 shares held on trust.

Assessment tasks

Is there sufficient certainty for creation of a trust? In addressing this question identify the research question, explain the relevant law succinctly relating to the research question and then discuss your research methodology, and finally provide an answer to the question.

Agency (this part is worth 15%)

A key issue in the law of agency is the authority of the agent. In order to bind the principle by the actions of the agent, the agent must have been acting within some level of authority. The authority of the agent comprises:

Express actual authority

Implied actual authority

Ostensible authority

You have a small problem scenario, but this time dealing with agency. The same instructions apply, addressing the research question and methodology. You are simply adapting the requirements to address this new research problem.

Scenario

Tina and Susie formed a company to acquire and develop land. The board of directors comprised Tina and Susie, and a nominee of each. The development of the land was left to Tina who, with the knowledge of the Board of Directors, acted as Managing Director, although she had never been formally appointed to the position. Tina employed a firm of architects to design plans for the land. They issued a bill to the company but this remained unpaid. Later the architects sued the company for payment of their fees for work they have done.

Assessment tasks

Is the company liable for the architect’s fees?

In addressing this question identify the research question, explain the relevant law succinctly relating to the research question and then discuss your research methodology, and finally provide an answer to the question.