During the two years of evening course work, Master of Business and Technology Law students hold full-time student status.
Please click on any specific module below to see its description.
Modules
Year 1
The module aims to familiarize the students with the legal systems of Macau, SAR and the P.R. of China and their interrelation (especially the principle “One Country Two Systems”) as well as their categorization as civil law systems. The module also covers the branches of law and the sources of law, with special focus being given to the branches of law relevant to this master program, their nature and basic scope. Major points of convergence and divergence between China’s and Macau’s legal systems on these aspects will be highlighted.
The module sheds light on the challenges posed by the inherently dynamic nature of technology to its regulation. It identifies critical areas of technological development, including in financial technology, contract law, data security, among other, and their potential to upend the current legal and regulatory rules and institutions in different areas. It also explores legal approaches to dealing with the different challenges, including innovative or non-traditional approaches to law-making and regulation.
The module explores the effects of technological development in contract-making and contract law. It covers a range of ways in which contract appear as a result of the use of technology, such as electronic contracts, automated contracts, and smart contracts. The module also covers the challenges posed to the law by the use of technologies in contract-making. Inter alia, issues such as the identification of the parties, formation of contracts, classification of contracts, performance of contracts, legal liability and its allocation, consumer protection, deserve attention in this module.
The module first aims to identify the forms in which electronic commerce appears, the subjects involved, and the dynamics of electronic transactions. It will go beyond business-to-consumer (B2C) relations and will also cover business-to-business (B2B) and potentially consumer-to-consumer (C2C) relations. The module will then identify the relevant sources of E-commerce law in Macau (and in mainland China due to its importance in the Territory’s e-commerce landscape) to later address crucial legal issues such as the formal validity of electronic transactions, security and authentication, contract formation and electronic payment systems, consumer protection issues, challenges and strategies to dispute resolution, and rules on marketing.
The digital economy, which is essentially borderless, relies massively on intangible assets, data, and the use of externalities generated by free products challenges key pillars of tax law such as source of income and residence, as well as the characterization of income for tax purposes. This module explores the challenges posed to taxation systems by the digital economy, the ongoing work at both international and domestic level to address these challenges, and the impact of these developments on businesses, including actions that they may be required to take in order to comply with evolving legal requirements.
The banking, finance, and securities laws in Macau are in a process of legal reform, spearheaded by the recent enactment of a new legal regime of the financial sector (Law no. 13/2023), in line with the governmental agenda of developing modern finance as one of the priority areas in the effort to diversify the local economy. Furthermore, the planned development of a bond market, green finance, fintech, just to name a few, pose important legal and regulatory challenges and will lead to further legal reforms and regulatory experiments (such as regulatory sandboxes). This module will map the evolving legal landscape on banking, finance, and securities in Macau, identify main areas of reform, as well as the opportunities and challenges that industry and legal developments present to economic agents, the government and the general public.
The module sets the foundation by exploring key concepts of the field of data protection and privacy, such as personality rights, privacy, data, sensitive data, data processing, etc., as well as principles for collection, storage and use of personal information (purpose limitation, proportionality and minimization, lawfulness, fairness and transparency, accuracy, storage limitations, adoption of privacy-enhancing technologies, and accountability). It then delves into substantive and procedural aspects of data protection regulation. The module also studies the institutional framework for data protection and finishes with an exploration of the challenges to data protection and privacy posed by new technologies such as artificial intelligence.
The module begins with an analysis of the concept of gambling, including its conceptual elements, the identification of activities not covered in the notion of gambling, of the activities generally considered as gambling (their status in Macau) and activities generally not considered as gambling (also, their status in Macau). This is followed by a review of the history of gaming and gambling in Macau and then the specific legal regime of gaming in Macau, including on issues such as gaming establishments; concession contracts; gaming promotion; responsible gambling; entry, work and gambling in casinos; and gaming related crimes. It then explores the impact of emerging technologies on the gaming industry.
The studies the interplay between financial technology and law. It begins with an exploration of conceptual aspects of fintech. It then identifies and evaluates the regulatory challenges faced by FinTech industries and the challenges faced by regulators in dealing with fintech developments. Specific regulatory issues on cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings, data privacy, cybersecurity, regulation of data-driven finance, artificial intelligence in financial services, and consumer protection are analysed. The institutional framework of Macau is also studied, including its functions and powers of relevant regulatory authorities.
The module will analyse the most important contractual arrangements used in the banking and insurance sectors. It will cover both static/structural aspects and dynamic aspects of various B2C contracts such as bank account contract, deposit, credit contracts, guarantees, and insurance contracts. Special attention will be given to the scope of contractual freedom and the legal limits imposed to such freedom, such as those driven by consumer protection concerns. The institutional framework relevant for this area will also be studied.
The module explores the cybersecurity concerns of the public and private critical infrastructures, as well as more generally the concerns of the general public and other public and private actors. It also critically analyses the legal and regulatory frameworks of Macau, benefiting from a comparative perspective with, inter alia, the mainland Chinese and European Union’s systems. Among other aspects, the general cybersecurity obligations and those applicable to specific industries such as the financial sector, the health sector, etc., will be covered, as well as an overview on legal liability for infractions, including administrative, civil, and criminal liability (e.g. cybercrimes).
The module begins with an exploration of conceptual aspects around digital forensics and the importance of training of legal professionals in the field. It follows with a study of the types of digital evidence, the powers and rights of subjects involved in the process of collection, storage, and submission of digital evidence. It follows with an overview of investigative methodologies (forensic analysis, electronic discovery, intrusion investigation, etc.), preservation of digital evidence, and a study of the causes and rationale of invalidity of digital evidence. The module also evaluates the role of expert witnesses (digital forensic experts), as well an introduction to digital forensic technologies and standards and best practices in digital forensics.
Year 2
In this module, students will develop fundamental skills to conduct legal research. Specifically, the module provides students with the knowledge and skills to identify a research problem, design research question(s), conduct literature reviews, apply legal research methodologies, and use a proper citation and referencing when conducting legal research.
The module provides students with competences in the prevention, detection, and response to financial crimes. It analyses the most prevailing types of financial crimes, including money laundering, fraud, terrorism financing, corruption, loansharking, etc., both regarding how they are typified by the legal system and how they are normally carried out. This enables the study of strategies to prevent and detect such crimes. The module also covers matters of compliance, inter alia, covering the legal requirements that business operators are required to follow in the prevention, detection, and response to financial crimes.
The module studies intellectual property rights in light of technological developments. After setting out the foundation by outlining fundamentals of copyrights, patents, trademarks, and industrial models and designs, a specific focus on the role of technology for the commercialization of intellectual property rights is given, especially having a look on some contractual arrangements involving technology and intellectual property rights (e.g. technology transfer agreements, licensing agreements; franchising). The module also evaluates the impact of new technologies in the creation, protection, and commercialization of intellectual property rights, such as the impact of artificial intelligence on copyright protection, ubiquitous infringement and territoriality, and digital art creation, commercialization, and protection.
The capstone project consists of an individual research project on any area of Banking and Finance Law / Technology Law. The project may involve applied legal research (including but not limited to a regulatory gap analysis, a compliance framework, or a draft law or policy), a policy brief, or a legal technology building. The student is required to produce a written report and orally present the report in front of a panel. Each student will be assigned a project supervisor (co-supervision is also possible).
