International and Comparative Secured Transactions (LAWS0308)

The module considers how security is granted by companies and the legal and practical issues in doing so.

The taking of security is an aspect of the law of property and the module will therefore also consider principles underlying the creation of property rights and the incidence of proprietary interests arising in secured transactions. It will also look at the effectiveness of security as against other secured creditors, third parties and insolvency officers.  

While the focus is on current English law, comparative perspectives will be developed where possible and selected proposals for reform of English law will be considered.

Module Syllabus

1. Types of security interests: pledges, mortgages, charges
2. Fixed and floating charges 
3. Assignment and security in intangibles 
4. Title-based financing interests (‘quasi-security’) 
5. Creation
6. Registration 
7. Priorities
8. Enforcement
9. The effect of insolvency
10. Set-off
11. Guarantees and Indemnities
12. Cross-border security
13. Cross-border insolvency
14. International Instruments: UNCITRAL Legislative Guide and Model Law on Secured Transactions; UNIDROIT Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment (Cape Town 2001) and Aircraft Protocol.
15. Reform

Recommended Materials

• R Calnan, Taking Security (4th edn Lexis Nexis 2018)
• Louise Gullifer (ed), Goode and Gullifer on Legal Problems of Credit and Security (6th edition Sweet & Maxwell 2017)
• H Beale, M Bridge, L Gullifer, E Lomnicka, The Law of Security and Title-Based Financing (3rd edn OUP 2018)
• L Gullifer and M Raczynska, ‘Secured Transactions’ in: McKnight, Paterson and Zakrzewski on the Law of International Finance (2nd edn OUP 2017) -this is an extensive overview chapter aimed primarily at practitioners not necessarily familiar with English law
• M Raczynska, The Law of Tracing in Commercial Transactions (OUP 2018)

Module reading lists and other module materials will be provided via online module pages, once students have made their module selections upon enrolment. 

Preliminary Reading

Candidates not familiar with the principles of English personal property law may benefit from: 

• Chapters 1 and 11 of D Sheehan, the Principles of Personal Property (2nd edn Hart 2017)
• Part I and III.F4 in B McFarlane, The Structure of Property Law (Hart 2008) 

Key information