Commercial Law

Code:

D400

Acronym:

DCOM1

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Legal Sciences

Instance: 2006/2007 - A

Active?	Yes
Course/CS Responsible:	Law

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
D	132	Official Study Plan - LD	4	-	13	-

Objectives

The aim of this course is to provide students with solid foundations regarding the fundamental institutions of our commercial law. It begins, therefore, with some basic concepts still crucial in portuguese trade law, such as "act of trade", "merchant" or "enterprise", as well as the study of the respective regimes. Afterwards, the course focuses on the study of distinctive signals of trade (especially the trademark regime), insolvency law and bills of exchange. The last and most important part of the course regards portuguese corporate law, where questions such as company formation, the rights and duties of shareholders, profit distribution and corporate governance will be thoroughly analyzed.

Program

PART I - ACTS OF TRADE, MERCHANTS AND ENTERPRISE
1. Introduction
2. Acts of trade and merchants: notion, regime and status
3. The enterprise: notion and legal types; enterprise sale and lease.

PART II - TRADE-RELATED INSTITUTES: DISTINCTIVE
SIGNALS, BILLS OF EXCHANGE AND INSOLVENCY LAW
1. Distinctive signals: the merchants' name; denominations; trademarks.
2. Bills of exchange and cheques.
3. Insolvency: conditions, procedure and effects.

PART III - CORPORATE LAW
1. Legal types of corporations
2. Formation and statutes
3. Corporate personality and capacity
4. Shares; rights and obligations of shareholders
5. Capital maintenance rules
6. Profit distribution
7. Shareholders resolutions
8. Corporate direction
9. Liquidation

Main Bibliography

Abreu, Jorge Manuel Coutinho de, Curso de Direito Comercial, vol. I, 5ª ed., Almedina, Coimbra, 2005; vol. II, Das Sociedades, Almedina, Coimbra, 2002.

Ascensão, J. Oliveira, Direito Comercial, vol. II, Direito Industrial, Lisboa, 1994; vol. III, Títulos de Crédito, Lisboa, 1992; vol. IV, Sociedades Comerciais – Parte Geral, Lisboa, 2000.

Cordeiro, António Menezes, Manual de Direito Comercial, I vol., Almedina, Coimbra, 2001; Manual de Direito das Sociedades, I – Das sociedades em geral, Almedina, Coimbra, 2004; II - Das sociedades em especial, Almedina, Coimbra, 2006

Correia, António Ferrer, Lições de Direito Comercial (reprint da edição de 1973), Lex, Lisboa, 1994

AA.VV. (Pedro Maia, Elisabete Ramos, Alexandre Soveral Martins e Paulo de Tarso Domingues, sob a coordenação de J.M. Coutinho de Abreu) Estudos de Direito das Sociedades, Almedina, Coimbra, 7.ª ed., 2004.

AA.VV., Problemas do direito das sociedades, Almedina, Coimbra, 2002

Complementary Bibliography

Cunha, Carolina, e Ricardo Costa, A simplificação formal do trespasse de estabeleci-mento comercial e o novo regime do arrendamento urbano, Almedina, Coimbra, 2006

Domingues, Paulo de Tarso, Do Capital Social – Noção, Princípios e Funções, BFDUC, Studia Iuridica, 33, Coimbra Editora, Coimbra, 2.ª ed., 2003.

Domingues. Paulo de Tarso, A vinculação das sociedades por quotas no Código das Sociedades Comerciais, in Revista da FDUP, Ano I, Coimbra Ed., Coimbra, 2004

Fernandes, Luís Carvalho e João Labareda, Código da insolvência e da recuperação de empresas anotado, vols. 1 e 2, Quid Juris, 2005

Furtado, Jorge H. C. Pinto, Títulos de crédito, Almedina, Coimbra, 2000

Labareda, João, O novo código da insolvência e da recuperação de empresas – alguns aspectos mais controversos, in IDET – Miscelâneas, n.º 2, Almedina, Coimbra, 2004

Lobo Xavier, Vasco da Gama , Sociedades Comerciais, Lições aos alunos de Direito Comercial do 4º ano jurídico, Coimbra, 1987

Maia, Pedro, Função e Funcionamento do Conselho de Administração da Socie-dade Anónima, Coimbra ed., Coimbra, 2002

Pitão, França, Letras e Livranças, Almedina, Coimbra, 2002

Serra, Catarina, O novo regime português da insolvência – uma introdução, Almedina, Coimbra, 2004

Teaching methods and learning activities

Theoretical classes: Exposition of the contents of the discipline , use of case-studies
Practical classes: The students have to solve practical exercises

Evaluation Type

Evaluation with final exam

Eligibility for exams

The marks the student must get have to be equal or higher than 10, in a scale of [0,20] in one of the following hypotheses:
a)Average between the two examinations (“frequencies”);
b)Oral examination (if the student obtained in a) a mark between 7 and 9);
c)Written final examination;
d)Oral final examination (if the student obtained in c) a mark between 7 and 9.

Calculation formula of final grade

Are the marks obtained in the examinations referred in “Frequency Attaining” a), b), c) or d).

Examinations or Special Assignments

None

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

General Law and rules enforced in FDUP.

Classification improvement

Is obtained by doing a written or an oral examination