Course requirements
Master degree in Law. This course is part of the Advanced Master Law and Finance.
More information: https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/education/study-programmes/master/law-and-finance
Course information
Technology plays a fundamental role in the way banks and other financial institutions conduct their business and offer their products and services to customers. On the one hand, digital technologies offer new opportunities that could contribute to improved access to finance, cost savings, and increased efficiency and profitability. On the other hand, these technologies may cause operational risks and, depending on certain circumstances, eventually harm financial stability, decrease investor and consumer protection.
The course Digital Finance is designed to provide students with a deeper understanding of the rapidly evolving intersection of the financial industry and technology. This course explores the digital transformation of financial services and the regulatory and legal implications that accompany this development. Students will gain insights into the latest advancements in financial technology and examine how regulation has been adapted to respond to multiple risks and challenges created by the technological environment of financial institutions shaped for the digital service offerings and the business administration (for instance, through the application of blockchain and cloud computing) and the development and proliferation of cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, decentralised finance (DeFi) and artificial intelligence, including machine learning. The course will thoroughly discuss responses to the challenges posed by these technologies with a particular focus on enhancing the digital operational resilience of financial entities and the introduction of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
Course learning objectives
The aim of this course is to: (i) examine the most relevant developments in digital technologies, their relevance for financial institutions, financial product offering and financial services, (ii) analyse various risks arising at the intersection of finance and digital technologies, and (iii) highlight how law and regulation respond to these risks.
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
Explain the basic technological foundations and operation of distributed ledger technology, artificial intelligence, cloud computing and online distribution of products and services;
Describe how financial institutions and financial services are affected by and could embrace technological developments (e.g. by providing use cases);
Identify key EU policy and legislative instruments in the area of digital finance, explain their rationale and describe their scope and main rules;
Independently assess the strengths and weaknesses of the current EU legislative framework for digital finance;
Analyse academic literature, legal sources and cases concerning various aspects of digital finance.
Mode of instruction
Lectures and seminars will be held in a weekly schedule in a classroom setting with mandatory class attendance. Only when required by government regulation or decided by the Programme Board, teaching will be conducted in an online setting.
Lectures & Seminars
Number of (2 hour) lectures & seminars: 10
Names of lecturers: Prof Bart Joosen and Dr Ilya Kokorin
Required preparation by students: reading of prescribed materials, preparation of case studies and any other assignments.
Examination method
The examination will be made through the writing of an Exam Paper that will be presented by the students in a plenary session with the class. The Exam Paper will be subject to a peer review process and the evaluation by lecturers. Therefore, the course assessment will be based on the following elements:
Individual preparation of the Exam Paper (70% of the grade to be established by the lecturers).
Peer Review of the Exam Paper (10% for a genuine participation in the peer review process).
Oral defence of the Exam Paper in a plenary session with a professional panel (20% of the grade to be established by the lecturers).
Further information about the Exam Paper, the Peer Review process and the Oral defence will be communicated to students through Brightspace at the start of the course.
The final grade, on the scale from 1 (poor) to 10 (outstanding), for the course is established by determining the weighted average of the preparation, peer review, and oral defence of the exam paper and rounded to full grades. Grade 6 (5.5 rounded) is a pass.
Brightspace
The course syllabus, lecture slides, as well as most of the required & recommended reading material will available to be downloaded from Brightspace.
Course materials
Due to the fast-evolving nature of the topics and issues covered in this course, we will not use a single textbook. Instead, various articles, policy papers and book chapters will be assigned in a course reader that is available on Brightspace.
Contact
Course Coordinator:
Ilya Kokorin LLM
Email: i.kokorin@law.leidenuniv.nl
Programme Coordinator:
Ms. Orsolya Kalsbeek-Bagdi
Email address: lawandfinance@law.leidenuniv.nl
Disclaimer: Currently these pages are being updated to reflect the courses for 2024 - 2025. Until these pages are fixed as per 1 September 2024 no rights can be claimed from the information which is currently contained within. Should there be any future extenuating circumstances which may impinge our teaching and assessment, these could necessitate modification of the course descriptions after 1 September. This will only happen in the event of strict necessity and the interests of the students will be taken into account. Should there be a need for any change during the course, this will be informed to all students on a timely basis. Modifications after 1 September 2024 may only be done with the approval and consent of the Faculty Board and Programme Director.