Master of Business Law (MBL)

A flexible qualification in business law and regulation, this program offers candidates the opportunity to select from the entire range of units offered through the Sydney Law School’s commercial law, corporate, securities and finance law, international business law, international taxation and taxation programs. Candidates can choose from up to 70 units of study in any given year, the largest choice of any coursework master's at the Law School besides the Master of Laws (LLM).

Program Co-ordinator

Professor Roger Magnusson

Admission requirements

Candidates must hold an undergraduate degree at an appropriate level in accountancy, business, commerce or another suitable discipline. Candidates enrolling in the Master of Taxation (M Tax) units must complete New Income Tax system and/or any other pre-requisites. Candidates may also have to complete Legal Reasoning and the Common Law System if they do not have a degree in accountancy or if they have not completed legal studies in a business or commerce degree within a common law jurisdiction.

Program structure

The Master of Business Law (MBL) requires the completion of 48 credit points, equivalent to eight units of study. Most of the units on offer carry a value of six credit points each. Students choose from the entire range of relevant units on offer, a guide of which is listed below.

Attendance Pattern

Each unit of study entails 26 contact hours. Units are offered on a semester length basis or intensive basis. Semester length units are taught once a week over 13 weeks on either a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday evening between 6pm and 8pm. Intensive units of study condense the 26 hours over a period of four to five days. The units are then taught between 9am and 5pm over a block period. For example, an intensive unit may be taught two consecutive days one week and then two consecutive days in a fortnight's time. All classes are held in the Law School or another Sydney CBD location.

Duration

Mode

Timeframe

Full-time 1-3 years
Part-time 2-6 years

Units of study

For 2009 Units of study list, please visit Units of study 2009 by alphabetical order.

Compulsory units of study 2010
Legal Reasoning & the Common Law System *

*Candidates without a law degree from a common law jurisdiction must undertake this unit prior to enrolling in other law units.

Elective units of study 2010
Advanced Financing Techniques
Advanced Obligations and Remedies
Aspects of European Union Commercial Law
Australian Financial Services Regulation
Australian Import/Export Laws
Australian International Taxation
Breach of Contract
Capital Gains Tax
Carbon Trading, Derivatives and Taxation
Chinese International Taxation
Chinese Laws and Chinese Legal Systems
Comparative Admiralty and Maritime Law
Comparative Commercial Contracts
Comparative Corporate Governance
Comparative Corporate Taxation
Comparative Income Taxation
Comparative International Taxation
Comparative Taxation of Financial Transactions
Comparative Value Added Tax
Competition Law
Compliance: Theory & Practice in the Financial Services Industry
Construction Law
Consumer Contracts and Product Defects
Contract Negotiation
Controlling Liability by Contract
Corporate Fundraising
Corporate Insolvency Law
Corporate Taxation
Debt Financing
Doing Business in China
Employment Law Advocacy
Equity Financing
European Private International Law
Financial Risk Allocation in Equity
Food Product Law & Policy: Australia in an International Context
Global Oil and Gas Contracts and Issues
Goods & Services Taxation Principles
Human Rights and the Global Economy
International Dispute Resolution: Practice & Procedure
Independent Research Project (available to eligible Master's candidates only)
Intellectual Property: Issues in Marketing Rights
Intellectual Property: Principles & Concepts
Interaction of Tort and Contracts
International Business Law
International Commercial Arbitration
International Import/Export Laws
International Insolvency Law
International Investment Law
International Mergers and Acquisitions
International Structured Finance, Law & Practice
Introductory Corporate Law
Japanese Law
Japanese Law and the Economy
Key Legal Concepts in Finance Law
Law and Investment in Asia
Law and Society in Indonesia
Law of Asset Protection
Law of Derivatives Markets
Law of Tax Administration
Manipulation & Abuse in Global Securities Markets
Mediation of Commercial Disputes
Netherlands International Tax
Personal Property Securities
Plain English in Legal Writing
Principles of Defamation Law
Principles of US Taxation
Private International Law
Problems in Contract Formation
Public International Law
Public Policy
Shareholders' Remedies
Stamp Duties
Takeovers and Reconstructions
Tax and Commercial Laws of the CIS
Taxation of Business & Investment Income A
Taxation of Business & Investment Income B
Taxation of Controlled Foreign Companies, Foreign Investment Funds & Transferor Trusts
Taxation Treaties
Tax Treaties Special Issues
Taxation of Corporate Finance
Taxation of Corporate Groups
Taxation of Mergers and Acquisitions
Taxation of Partnerships and Trusts
Taxation of Superannuation and Insurance
The Business of Tax Administration
The Currency of Justice

The Impact of Taxation on Business Structures & Operations 

It is recommended that candidates who are not working in the tax area and have not taken an undergraduate tax unit in Australia in the past five years undertake this unit before enrolling in other tax units. If in doubt, please consult the Taxation Program Coordinator.
The Law of Trusts
The Legal System of the European Union
The State of the Capital Markets
Transfer Pricing in International Tax
Transnational Commercial Litigation
UK International Taxation
US International Taxation
World Trade Organization (WTO) Law I
World Trade Organization (WTO) Law II

Staff

For further information on individual staff, their research interests and publications, please refer to the Our People section of the website.