Vietnam National University – HCMC

International University
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

COURSE SYLLABUS*

BA081IU
Business Law

Note: The outline with specific venue and time, and updated learning materials for the
current semester will be provided to the enrolled students by the lecturer
BA167IU VNU – International University
Business Law School of Business Administration

1. COURSE STAFF

Lecturer: Mai The Kien

Room: A1 304
Telephone:
E-mail: mtkien@hcmiu.edu.vn
Consultation Hours: Wednesday Morning

Teaching Assistant:
Room:
Telephone:
E-mail:
Consultation Hours:

Should the students wish to meet the staff outside the consultation hours, they are advised
to make appointment in advance.

2. COURSE INFORMATION

2.1 Teaching times and Locations.

Lecturer(s):
Venue:

2.2 Units of Credit

This course is worth 3 credits.

2.3 Parallel teaching in the course

There is no parallel teaching involved in this course.

2.4 Relationship of this course to others

You must take course of Introduction to Vietnamese Legal System in order to register for
this course. This is also strongly recommended to take up this course to succeed in severe
other elective subjects, such as Franchising or Legal Environment for Businesses.

2.5 Approach to learning and teaching

This is a foundation course so materials will be mainly presented in the form of lecturing.
Besides, students will occasionally have opportunity to have presentation before class to
develop team-work and soft-skills. To improve research ability and personal work skill,
assignments are compulsory. Assignments will mainly based on materials not yet taught
during lesson and help students to develop problem-solving skill, especially legal cases.
Q&A session, regularly held at the end of each lesson’s part is not only a chance for

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Business Law School of Business Administration

students to clarify the studying materials, but also learn how to answer in a most efficient
way to get as much as possible knowledge and academically discuss with lecturers/peers
points of interests.

3. COURSE AIMS AND OUTCOMES

3.1 Course Aims

The aim of this course is to:
 Familiarize the student with legal language; basic concepts, principles and general
knowledge of business Law.
 Introduce to students about main business forms in Vietnam and regulations for
each. Also, possibility of reorganization and Insolvency for enterprises, as main
subject matter of this course.
 Increase the student’s understanding of the Vietnamese regulations over business
dispute resolution,
 Expose the student to legal reasoning and develop his/her ability to apply legal
concepts.
 Introduce students to main trade international organizations and main
international trade rules.
 Develop problem solving and legal analyzing skills and apply it to day-to-day
practical situations.

3.2 Student Learning Outcomes

After completing the course, students should have:

 Basic knowledge on Legal regulations on business activities and enterprises. Main
concepts and principles.
 Knowledge on specific issues for operation, reorganization and insolvency of
enterprises
 Ability to analyze and choose the best way to solve business disputes and apply
best suitable regulations for enterprises.
 Analyzing and problem-solving skills to be applied to practical cases

In generic terms, students completing this course are likely to achieve the following
attributes:
 Applied research. Conduct, write and present applied research relevant to this
course.
 Situational exploration. Critically appreciate situations, in terms of their factual,
political, temporal, and cultural dimensions.
 Problem resolution. Structure and propose solutions to organizational problems
that enable management to guide multinational organizations through complex
and ambiguous environments.
 Argument and reasoning. Analyze, evaluate and construct arguments employing
different modes of reasoning and different types of evidence.

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Business Law School of Business Administration

 Disciplinary and multidisciplinary perspective. Bring disciplinary and multi-

disciplinary perspectives in straightening out situations and projecting possible
outcomes.
 Profound knowledge of legal language and its application.

3.3 Teaching Strategies

The learning system in this course consists of lectures and scheduled

presentations/discussions. Lectures elaborate the appropriate theoretical content in the
textbook and readings. Classes provide a more detailed and refined analysis of both
concepts and applied materials. Classes are strongly oriented towards interactive
discussion of the text and cases. In order to gain the most from the lectures and class
activities, the below assigned text/reading should be read before the lecture to participate
in the discussions.

All students are required to take active part in the discussions and Q&A session at the end
of lesson or relevant part.

Additional researches will be strongly encourage and might be generated additional

points. Besides, if students are facing a legal problem in practice they are welcome to
bring it to the class and discuss.

4. STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES AND CONDUCT

4.1 Workload

It is expected that the students will spend at least six hours per week studying this course.
This time should be made up of reading, research, working on exercises and problems,
and attending classes. In periods where they need to complete assignments or prepare for
examinations, the workload may be greater.

Over-commitment has been a cause of failure for many students. They should take the
required workload into account when planning how to balance study with part-time jobs
and other activities.

4.2 Attendance

Regular and punctual attendance at lectures and seminars is expected in this course.
University regulations indicate that if students attend less than eighty per cent of
scheduled classes they may be refused final assessment. Exemptions may only be made
on eligible medical grounds.

4.3 General Conduct and Behavior

The students are expected to conduct themselves with consideration and respect for the
needs of the fellow students and teaching staff. Conduct which unduly disrupts or

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Business Law School of Business Administration

interferes with a class, such as ringing or talking on mobile phones, is not acceptable and
students will be asked to leave the class. Use of laptops is also prohibited during law
lessons. More information on student conduct is available at the university webpage.

4.4 Keeping informed

The students should take note of all announcements made in lectures or on the course’s
Blackboard, and other announced mean of communications. From time to time, the
university will send important announcements to their university e-mail addresses
without providing a paper copy. The students will be deemed to have received this
information.

5. LEARNING ASSESSMENT

5.1 Formal Requirements

In order to pass this course, the students must:
 achieve a composite mark of at least 50; and
 make a satisfactory attempt at all assessment tasks (see below).

5.2 Assessment Details

Mid-Term Exam (approximately 60 mins) 30%

Assignment, Participation Presentation 20%
Final Exam (up to 120mins) 50%
Total 100%

5.3 Marking criteria (project report and case presentation)

Marking Criteria Marks Learning outcomes/attributes

Quality of arguments:
relevance, logic and cohesion
Use of frameworks to
support analysis
Use of case evidence to
support analysis
Originality and usefulness of
the analysis
Organisation, clarity of
expression, editing etc
20 Ability to give compelling arguments and
reasoning to support analysis
20 Ability to structure problems in accordance
with theoretical frameworks and resolve
them
20 Ability to conduct applied research to gather
data/information pertaining to the case
20 Ability to engage in creative problem
solving skills
20 Clarity of vision

5.4 Class participation and Presentation

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Business Law School of Business Administration

A minimum attendance of 80 percent is compulsory. Students will be assessed on the

basis of:
a) Presentation of case 15%
b) Class attendance and participation 5%

5.5 Special Consideration

Request for special consideration (for final examination only) must be made to the Office
of Academic Affairs within one week after the examination. General policy and
information on special consideration can be found at the Office of Academic Affairs.
Absence on the Mid-term is not allowed, or in special cases approved by Lecturer can be
replaced with relevant Assignment.

6. ACADEMIC HONESTY AND PLAGIARISM

Plagiarism is the presentation of the thoughts or work of another as one’s own (definition
proposed by the University of Newcastle). Students are also reminded that careful time
management is an important part of study and one of the identified causes of plagiarism
is poor time management. Students should allow sufficient time for research, drafting,
and the proper referencing of sources in preparing all assessment items. The university
regards plagiarism as a form of academic misconduct, and has very strict rules regarding
plagiarism.†
7. STUDENT RESOURCES

7.1 Course Resources

Please note that it is very important to gain familiarity with the subject matter in the
readings and cases prior to attendance in classes.

Legal Texts:

1. Civil Code of Vietnam - 2020

2. Commercial Law – 2020
3. Law on Investment – 2020
4. Law on Enterprises – 2020
5. Law on Bankruptcy – 2020
6. Civil procedure code – 2020
7. Law on commercial arbitration – 2010

Reference Books:
- Đại học luật Hà Nội, Giáo trình Luật Thương mại 1, (10th edn, Công An Nhân
Dân 2014).
- Đại học luật Hà Nội, Giáo trình Luật Thương mại 2, (9th edn, Công An Nhân Dân
2015)

†
This is adapted with kind permission from the University of New South Wales.

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Additional materials provided in Blackboard

The lecturer will attempt to make lecture notes and additional reading available on
Blackboard. However this is not an automatic entitlement for students doing this subject.
Note that this is not a distance learning course, and you are expected to attend lectures
and take notes. This way, you will get the additional benefit of class interaction and
demonstration.

Recommended Internet sites

UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development)
WTO (World Trade Organization)
MOIT - Vietnam (Official website of Ministry of Industry and Trade)
MPI - Vietnam (Official website of Ministry of Planning and Investment)

7.2 Other Resources, Support and Information

Additional learning assistance is available for students in this course and will be made
available in Blackboard. Academic journal articles are available through connections via
the VNU - Central Library. Recommended articles will be duly informed to the students.

8. COURSE SCHEDULE
Week Topic Learning materials and
activities
1 Business Law and Business Entity Lecture
 Introduction of the course and explanation of
syllabus and other academic matters Allocation of Discussion
 Introduction to Business law Questions
- What is Business Law?
- Its subject matters In-class group discussion
- Its main subject
Source: Law on
- Its sources Enterprises 2014
- Its roles
- Comparative study of severe business law
systems
 Introduction to Business Entities
 Overview and nature of business entities in
Vietnam
2 Business Entity: Business Household, Private Students are to prepare
Enterprise and Partnership. presentations on topics as
 Characteristics defined by lecturer
 Management structure
 Strength and weakness Source: Law on
 Comparison with other entities Enterprises 2014

3 Business Entity: Limited Liability Companies Students are to prepare

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Business Law School of Business Administration

(Sign member and two or more members) presentations on topics as

 Characteristics defined by lecturer
 Management structure
 Strength and weakness Source: Law on
 Comparison with other entities Enterprises 2014

4 Business Entity: Shareholding Company and Students are to prepare

State owned enterprise presentations on topics as
 Characteristics defined by lecturer
 Management structure
 Strength and weakness Source: Law on
 Comparison with other entities Enterprises 2014

5 Business Registration and Re-organization: Students are to prepare

Business Registration: presentations on topics as
 Formalities defined by lecturer
 Procedure Discussion on severe
Business Reorganization: cases of practice.
 Consolidation
 Merger Source: Law on
 Separation Enterprises 2014
 Division
 Dissolution
6 Law on bankruptcy Lecturer can also form a
 Insolvency group doing specific
 Bankruptcy procedure Bankruptcy topic
 Legal consequences of bankruptcy
Students are to prepare
presentations on topics as
defined by lecturer

Source: Law on
bankruptcy 2014
7 Law on Investment Students are to prepare
General introduction: presentations on topics as
 Business investment activities defined by lecturer
 Business investment areas
 Policies on investment (investment guarantee,
support and incentives) Source: Law on
 Business investment procedures Investment 2014

8 Business dispute resolutions: Lecture

 Introduction on dispute resolution methods.
 Definition and nature of each dispute Source: Civil Procedure
Code 2015.

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resolution methods
 Advantages and disadvantages of each
dispute resolution methods
Discussion on cases of
 Dispute resolution under court systems substance.
according to Vietnamese Civil Procedure
- Court’s jurisdiction
- Principles of dispute settlements
- Dispute settlement procedure
- 1st instance Trial
- Appellate Trial
- Cassation Trail
- Re-opening trial

9 Business Dispute Resolutions: Lecture

 Dispute resolution under Arbitration
according to Vietnamese law Source: Law on
- General introduction about Vietnamese commercial arbitration
regulation of arbitration and Ordinance 2010.
on Arbitration 2010
 Arbitration’s jurisdiction
 Dispute settlement procedure Discussion on cases of
substance.

10 + 11 Contractual Law: general regulations Lecture

 General Introduction:
- Definition
- Subject matters Legal Text: Civil Code
2005
- Principles
 Validity of contracts
 Contract formation
Discussion on cases of
- Offer and Acceptance substance.
- Forms of contract
- Time and place
- Contents of contract
 Effectiveness of contracts
12 Contractual Law: General regulations Lecture
 Contract performance
- Principles
- Contract performance in specific cases Legal Text: Civil Code
2005
 Breaches and Remedies
 Contractual termination
Discussion on cases of

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substance.
13 International trade law International Trade Law,
Introduction Indira Carr, 5th 2014
 Introduction to Business Trade Law
 Sources of International trade law
 Introduction to main International Trade Lecture
Organizations: WTO
 Introduction to regional trade organizations:
EU, ASEAN, MERCOSUR…
14 International Business Law International Trade Law,
Introduction Indira Carr, 5th 2014
 International sale of goods
- Incoterm 2010
- The Vienna convention on the Lecture
international sale of goods 1980
 International transport of cargo
 International payment: UCP 600
15 Revision/ Tutoring classes As per necessity of each
lecturer.

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*
The syllabus is prepared following the format provided by the School of Organisation and Management, University of
New South Wales, with kind permission.