Handbook home
International Sustainable Finance (LAWS90144)
Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5Online
For information about the University’s phased return to campus and in-person activity in Winter and Semester 2, please refer to the on-campus subjects page.
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable(opens in new window)
Contact information
Please refer to the LMS for up-to-date subject information, including assessment and participation requirements, for subjects being offered in 2020.
Overview
Availability(Quotas apply) | April - Online |
---|---|
Fees | Look up fees |
Is sustainable finance the answer to climate change, poverty and inequality? The purpose of this subject is to immerse students in sustainable finance in international practice, from micro-finance to green bonds, renewable energy and refugee financing. Across these markets, key legal concepts, structural features and documentation are covered in detail. By engaging in-depth, through term sheet negotiations, the students jointly develop the skills to assess, prioritise, challenge and negotiate these transactions.
The subject coordinator draws on his own experience in global sustainable finance, and invites experts from international law firms and consultant, to help you become ‘more than a lawyer’.
This innovative subject will combine classroom teaching with online learning. Students will be expected to attend four days in class and participate in online learning prior to the subject being taught.
Principal topics include:
- The Sustainable Development Goals, their evolving regulatory framework, their implementation by banks, funds and corporates in international practice
- Development Finance, the actors and the law, covering such diverse issues as sanctions law, immunities and aspects of state aid, as well as environmental and social law in financial transactions
- Understanding the structural features of international financial transactions with a focus on sustainability
- Inclusive finance, through microfinance, gender finance and small and medium enterprise (SME) lending, and relevant regulation
- Green bonds, SDGs bonds and social impact bonds, furthering sustainability the capital markets
- Local currency financing as a means for derivatives to provide sustainable development
- Legal aspects of renewable energy project finance
- Impact investing (private equity and funds)
- Examples of structured sustainable finance, for instance through refugee finance, vaccine bonds, drought risk transfer and microfinance securitisation
- Examples of litigation in sustainable finance, for instance the risk of mis-selling ‘green’ products, and legal means to address this risk in documentation as well as through strategic means.
Intended learning outcomes
A student who has successfully completed this subject will:
- Have a detailed understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in theory and legal practice
- Have learnt to apply key legal concepts across a variety of legal areas, from lending, derivatives, capital markets, project finance, restructurings and funds investment
- Have specialised knowledge of the documentation of sustainable finance in these areas
- Have the skills required to analyse sustainable transactions – know where to look for, prioritise, assess the merits and the legal risks, and thus
- Be able to critically assess the effectiveness of sustainable finance
- Have developed a thorough understanding of the regulatory framework underpinning sustainable finance globally for sovereigns, banks and corporates, and the legal, litigation and reputation risk for front-runners in this market
- Build on key negotiation and presentation skills for application in practice.
Last updated: 30 October 2023
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
None
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Recommended background knowledge
Applicants without legal qualifications should note that subjects are offered in the discipline of law at an advanced graduate level. While every effort will be made to meet the needs of students trained in other fields, concessions will not be made in the general level of instruction or assessment. Most subjects assume the knowledge usually acquired in a degree in law (LLB, JD or equivalent). Applicants should note that admission to some subjects in the Melbourne Law Masters will be dependent upon the individual applicant’s educational background and professional experience.
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 30 October 2023
Assessment
Due to the impact of COVID-19, assessment may differ from that published in the Handbook. Students are reminded to check the subject assessment requirements published in the subject outline on the LMS
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Class participation | Throughout the teaching period | 10% |
Research paper on a topic approved by the subject coordinator
| 15 July | 90% |
Last updated: 30 October 2023
Quotas apply to this subject
Dates & times
- April - Online
Coordinator Jan Job de Vries Robbe Mode of delivery Online Contact hours Total time commitment 150 hours Pre teaching start date 9 April 2020 Pre teaching requirements From this time, students are expected to access and review the Reading Guide that will be available from the LMS subject page and the subject materials provided by the subject coordinator, which will be available from Melbourne Law School. Refer to the Reading Guide for confirmation of which resources need to be read and what other preparation is required before the teaching period commences. Teaching period 23 April 2020 to 28 April 2020 Last self-enrol date 10 April 2020 Census date 29 April 2020 Last date to withdraw without fail 12 June 2020 Assessment period ends 15 July 2020
Additional delivery details
This subject will be taught from Thursday to Tuesday. Students will be expected to attend four days in class and participate in online learning prior to the subject being taught.
This subject has a quota of 30 students.
Enrolment is on a first come, first served basis. Waitlists are maintained for subjects that are fully subscribed.
Students should note priority of places in subjects will be given as follows:
- To currently enrolled Graduate Diploma and Masters students with a satisfactory record in their degree
- To other students enrolling on a single subject basis, eg Community Access Program (CAP) students, cross-institutional study and cross-faculty study.
Please refer to the Melbourne Law Masters website for further information about the management of subject quotas and waitlists.
Last updated: 30 October 2023
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
Specialist materials will be made available from Melbourne Law School prior to the pre-teaching period.
- Links to additional information
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
Additional information for this subject
If required, please contact law-admissions@unimelb.edu.au for subject coordinator approval.
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
This subject is available to students studying at the University from eligible overseas institutions on exchange and study abroad. Students are required to satisfy any listed requirements, such as pre- and co-requisites, for enrolment in the subject.
Last updated: 30 October 2023