Law, Business and Society

Introduction

This bachelor's course aims to provide students with an introduction to the fundamental legal prerequisites for economic activity and societal organization, and how these prerequisites have evolved over time. The course provides basic legal knowledge, including key features of the rule of law and legal regulations, law in society, and international perspectives. Furthermore, the course provides students with a comprehensive understanding of the historical development of capitalism and the modern market economy, the role of companies and other entities in the economy, how these companies and entities have evolved over time, and the various types of entities operating in the economy today. Students are also expected to have an understanding of the main features of the development of the global economy, including central driving forces, legal prerequisites, and consequences.

Course content

The course will have a two-part structure – a legal part and a historical part – but with overlap between topics and lectures.

Part 1:    Economics, businesses and markets in a historical perspective

• Economic growth in a historical perspective.
• The emergence and development of capitalism and the market society.
• The history of business, including developments in business organisation and ownership. 
• The emergence of the global economy.
• Economic inequality, historically and today.
• The emergence of the rule of law nationally and internationally.

Part 2:     The principles and historical development of the rule of law 

• The legislative process in Norway.
• The concept and fundamental principles of the rule of law (including the principle of separation of powers, the principle of popular sovereignty, and freedom of expression, religion and assembly, as well as other key principles such as the principle of legality, legal certainty and conditions for preserving the legitimacy of the law). 
• Different forms of ownership and business, certain basic features of different types of ownership (individual, partnership, cooperative, self-owned businesses, AS, ASA, foundations, etc.), with emphasis on the limited company form. 
• What is the function of the law in the economy? 
• The relationship between public law and private law.
• Who enforces the rule of law (legislative power, courts, mediation schemes, public supervision, the EU system and Norway), including the independence of the courts and the role of lawyers in the rule of law. 
• Dispute resolution within and outside the courts in Norway. 
• The internationalisation of the law.

Disclaimer

This is an excerpt from the complete course description for the course. If you are an active student at BI, you can find the complete course descriptions with information on eg. learning goals, learning process, curriculum and exam at portal.bi.no. We reserve the right to make changes to this description.