LE1041 | Law and Economics

Course Information

  • 2021-22
  • LE1041
  • 5-Year B.A., LL.B. (Hons.), LL.M.
  • III, IV, V
  • Jul 2021
  • Elective Course

This research-based seminar deals with the theory and praxis of law-and-economics. The appellation ‘20|20’ in the title is intended to refer to 21 (twenty-one) case laws and/or 21 (twenty-one) readings of book chapters (law review articles or research reports) over 20  (twenty) seminars detailed below.

Whilst the methodology of law-and-economics has been applied to a mélange of fields, this course will focus upon the application of law-and-economics in the context of Indian corporate/commercial laws.

Further, the course deals with fundamentals of the emerging field of blockchain technology/cryptocurrency. Recent news reports indicate massive uptick in Indian households’ investments in cryptocurrency – from USD 200 million to USD 40 billion in last year!2 Given the regulatory uncertainty surrounding blockchain technology/cryptocurrency, the course intends to deal with fundamentals of the field. Law-and-economics methodology provides a mot juste vantage point to analyze the promises and perils of blockchain technology/cryptocurrency.

This is an elective course indicated (but not mandated) by the Bar Council of India in its Legal Education Rules 2008.

This course builds upon the foundation of legal methods, jurisprudence, corporate law 1 and corporate law 2. Students who haven’t successfully completed all of these courses are strongly advised against signing up.

The approach of the course is that of a synthesis between theory (jurisprudence) and practice.

The choice of materials is a mix of statutes, case laws and secondary readings as identified below.

India Act 1934 and Banking Regulation Act 1949. The course will rely upon relevant statutory instruments (rules, regulations and circulars) issued in terms of these statutes.

The statutory materials primarily include enactments such as the Companies Act 2013, the Competition Act 2002, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016, Securities Contract Regulation Act 1956, Securities and Exchange Board of India Act 1992, the Reserve Bank ofthe pedagogical method will consist of (the Socratic Method inspired) discussions and class participation based upon assigned readings.

The course deals with relevant case laws and current developments. Whilst it is not the primary focus of the course, wherever relevant, it compares the Indian legal regime with that of the US, the EU and the UK.

The layout of the course involves readings foundational  materials in first few weeks followed  by advanced readings

Faculty

Rahul Singh

Associate Professor of Law