Commercial Law Diploma Regulations 2024-2025

These Regulations apply to all participants of the Commercial Law Diploma (CLD), provided by Juris Angliae Scientia (JAS) and implemented by the British Law Centre (BLC).

 

  1. AIMS & CURRICULUM

The CLD course builds on the participants’ knowledge of the foundations of English law, as acquired during the Diploma in English Law & Legal Skills (DELLS). The CLD builds problem-solving skills based on the following areas of substantive law:

  • Company and partnership law
  • Intellectual Property law
  • Elements of advanced contract law and equity
  • Commencing and defending international litigation
  • Elements of EU law

 

Further details of the issues that may be discussed during the CLD workshops are provided on the description of the Curriculum, located on the CLD’s webpage.

 

The CLD is an academic course which nevertheless uses a very practical and hands-on methodology for learning law, in which participants are involved in active problem-solving from the very beginning. It uses custom-designed written materials and workshops delivered by experienced teachers and practitioners to help participants expand and develop their knowledge of a range of commercial law issues and to acquire or develop related practical skills (e.g. searching commercial registers, drafting or amending, corporate documentation, reviewing contracts etc.)

 

Throughout the CLD workshops, participants follow and advise a set of fictional characters whose business activities develop (e.g. from sole traders into partnerships and then limited liability companies) and broaden to include new commercial problems and opportunities. CLD participants advise those fictional clients and, in doing so, explore and become familiar with a wide range of commercial issues.

 

The CLD workshops and related scenarios are not taught in a linear fashion (i.e. we do not discuss all company law issues, then move on to discussing IP law) but in a chronological, event-driven fashion (i.e. we discuss aspects of commercial law which match the ongoing activities and situations of the fictional clients). This not only helps to make each workshop more interesting but also better reflects the realities of life in a real law office or as a company’s in-house lawyer, where different legal issues may arise simultaneously.

 

 

  1. TEACHING & MATERIALS

 

CLD teaching is provided as follows:

 

  • Workshops: the CLD comprises 7 workshops (each lasting 4 hours) which are organised once per month during the relevant academic year. Workshops are conducted by experienced teachers and practitioners including the BLC’s core teaching team and guest lecturers. Participants will be able to attend any online workshops ‘live’ and to interact with the teacher, and all workshops are recorded, with recordings made available to participants for purely private study purposes.

 

  • Custom-designed written materials: the CLD written materials provide a concise overview of the relevant legal area, including important legal updates and discussion of issues which remain uncertain or controversial. These enable participants to familiarise themselves with the branch of law as a whole, and also to prepare the advice to be given to clients in response to the practical tasks and exercises

 

  • Practical tasks and exercises: in advance of each workshop, participants are provided with one or more tasks containing requests for advice or guidance from a fictional client. Each task requires participants to explore a new aspect of commercial law and/or to develop a new practical skill. These tasks form the core of the workshop discussions with CLD teachers.

 

  • Additional materials: in advance of each workshop, participants are provided with additional lectures/discussions and written materials about various areas of commercial law which participants will find useful and interesting. Those who are interested in acquiring more knowledge about a particular legal issue can use these materials to expand their knowledge over and above the issues that we discussed in workshops.

 

  • Online discussions outside workshops: Participants can contact the CLD teaching team outside the normal workshop timetable if they wish to discuss any aspect of the course materials.

 

 

  1. ATTENDANCE & ASSESSMENT

 

  • Attendance

Participants should strive to attend all of the CLD workshops or, where this is not possible, as many as possible. If a participant is aware that they will be unable to attend a particular workshop, they may contact the CLD teaching staff and enquire about the possibility to attend the same workshop at one of the other times it is offered.

 

In the event that a participant’s attendance is problematically poor, JAS reserves the right to refrain from issuing a Diploma or Certificate of Attendance. The assessment of whether a participant’s attendance is so poor as to disqualify them from receiving such accreditation shall be the sole discretion of the CLD teaching staff. However, solely by way of example, attendance will not usually be considered to be poor until a participant has, without good reason failed to attend 3 of the 7 CLD workshops.

 

 

  • Assessment

The Diploma in Commercial Law will be awarded to all participants who have:

(a) paid their course fees in full; and

(b) participated in a sufficient number of CLD workshops to allow their attendance to be considered as satisfactory; and

(c) completed and passed an end-of-course written assessment.

 

Anyone who completes parts (a) and (b) above shall be entitled to a Certificate of Attendance, notwithstanding their failure to submit/pass the written assignment referred to in part (c).

 

The written assessment referred to in part (c) above involves writing a client memorandum advising on one or more of the legal issues discussed during the CLD course, or performing another practical task (e.g. completing company-related documentation, such as amending Articles of Association). Participants will be informed of which topic[s] are to be dealt with in the memorandum at the end of the CLD course. Participants shall be provided with a choice of topics from which to select when writing the memorandum.

Work submitted as an end-of-course written assessment is marked on a pass/fail basis.

Our internal assessment of written work is subject to supervision of external examiners from the University of Cambridge and the University of Glasgow. Accordingly, any pass decision issued is provisional until such time as it is approved by the JAS external assessment procedures, which also function as an annual review of our marking quality and standards.  

 

 

  1. FEES

           

(i)    Fee levels and Payment Instructions

The applicable course fees for the relevant academic year are published on the CLD website when recruitment for that academic year begins. Participants will also receive Payment Instructions detailing how to pay course fees (e.g. relevant bank account numbers, payment dates, etc.) These instructions constitute an integral part of these Course Regulations.

 

The fee level differs depending upon whether or not the participant is a full-time student. This means someone who is registered as such at a higher-education institution (i.e. University), whether as an undergraduate or postgraduate (inc. Ph.D) student. It does not apply to people who are enrolled in a part-time educational course whilst working. Anyone seeking to pay the lower rates applicable to full-time students must submit documentation to confirm their status as such, when providing us with their confirmation of payment.

 

The fees applicable to the CLD 2024-2025 are as follows:

 

CLD Participants’ status CLD course fee if paid in full (or 1st instalment) by 30th July CLD course fee if paid after 30th July
Full-time student €550 €650
Other €770 €870

 

 

  • Bank transfers and currency

Payment Orders are processed on the BLC website, with Fees being payable by bank transfer or card payment and in the euro (€) currency. Anyone using the SEPA bank transfer system should not need to pay bank charges but any participant who is, for whatever reason, unable to use the SEPA system and/or is required to pay bank charges in connection with the bank transfer, must ensure that they accept and pay all costs arising in connection with the bank transfer (whether such costs are imposed by their local bank and/or JAS’s bank in the UK). In the event that JAS receives an amount lower than the participant’s actual payable fees, the participant shall remain liable to pay the unpaid amount. JAS reserves the right to prevent anyone who owes it unpaid fees from participating in, or successfully completing, the CLD, but we will always contact you first to discuss the situation and try to reach a workable solution.

 

  • Payment deadlines

Unless the instalment option is chosen, course fees are payable by no later than 30 days prior to the CLD commencement date which shall be the date of the first workshop offered on the CLD course in that academic year.

 

Anyone wishing to take advantage of any early-bird fee reduction[s] offered by JAS on the CLD website or elsewhere must have paid the First Payment by 30th July.

 

  • Instalment payments

It is possible to pay course fees in instalments. By choosing to do so, the participant acknowledges and accepts that they are obliged to pay their full course fees even in the event that they choose at any stage not to complete or continue with the course (whether by way of suspending or ceasing their participation in the course, or otherwise).

     

     

    1. PRIVACY AND DATA RETENTION

    When filing your online application to join the CLD, you provided us with permission to contact you electronically. The permission for which we asked is voluntary and may be revoked by you at any time, for example by sending a message in reply to any electronic correspondence which you receive from us. If, however, you did not express such permission, or if you subsequently revoke such permission, we will not address any electronic communications to you in the future.

     

    Your personal data is processed by the BLC to enable us to contact you regarding all aspects of the Diploma course and to keep you informed about the activities of JAS, the BLC and our sponsor law firms.

     

    We guarantee all your rights in this respect, including your right to request access to this data, to transfer such data, to correct such data, to delete such data and to delimit its processing, and also your right to object to our processing of your data. In the event that any participant’s objection to the BLC processing his/her data results in it becoming unreasonable or excessively difficult for the BLC to continue to contact the participant or to enable the participant to access course materials, assessments etc., that objection shall be deemed to constitute a withdrawal from the BLC course.

    Unless storage of the data for a longer period is mandated by applicable laws, we do not retain your data longer than necessary to enable contact with you, to tailor our offer for you, and to provide information about the activities of JAS, the BLC and our sponsor law firms.

     

    Should you have any questions, for instance as regards your right to lodge a complaint with an oversight authority, or any requests or objections, we invite you to contact us, using any of the methods described on our contact page.

     

    Anyone whose application to join the course is accepted will have their registration details stored in accordance with this aforementioned Privacy and Data Retention Policy and in accordance with applicable legislation.

     

     

    MISCELLANEOUS

     

    • Disputes arising in connection with the CLD

    The interpretation and application of these Regulations is governed by English law and subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts for the place of JAS’s registered office at: Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge, 10 West Road, Cambridge, CB3 9BZ, United Kingdom.

     

    • Acceptance of CLD Regulations

    By submitting a CLD application form and/or accessing CLD workshops or parts of the CLD website containing materials intended for CLD participants, participants express their consent to these Regulations (including the rules governing Fees and the Privacy and Data Retention Policy) and acknowledge that they have read, understood and fully accepted all aspects of the same.

     

    • Disclaimer

    Notwithstanding the practical nature of the course content and materials, the CLD is not intended to provide vocational training or information suitable for being used other than exclusively for the purposes of successfully completing the CLD course. In particular, information or guidance provided during or in connection with the CLD should not be used as the basis for taking or refraining from commercial or legal decisions of any kind, or for advising others on such decisions. To the greatest extent permissible under the applicable law, JAS accepts no liability whatsoever for any harm or loss, whether direct or indirect, caused to any participant or third party relying, whether directly or indirectly, on any information provided in connection with the CLD. Insofar as the applicable law may prevent the exclusion of such liability, JAS hereby limits such liability to the maximum extent permissible by the applicable law.

     

    • Queries

    If you have any queries about the CLD or these Regulations, please contact us using any of the methods available on our contact page.

     

     

     

    Facebook