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LAW1111 Australian Legal System

Interim Trimester 2, 2023 Online
Units : 1
School or Department : School of Law and Justice
Grading basis : Graded
Course fee schedule : /current-students/administration/fees/fee-schedules

Staffing

Course Coordinator:

Requisites

Students must be enrolled in: LLBP or BCLW or BALW or BART or BEDU or BSED
Pre-req/Co-req (BART only): CMS1000 or HAC1000
Enrolment is not permitted in LAW1111 if LAW1201 or LAW1101 or LAW1500 has been previously completed

Overview

This course is the foundation course for the Bachelor of Laws programs. It provides students with the introductory skills necessary to then complete remaining law courses. This is a core course in the Bachelor of Laws programs and is approved by the Legal Practitioners’ Admission Board, Queensland.

This course is the foundation course for the Bachelor of Laws programs. It provides students with the introductory skills necessary to then complete remaining law courses. This is a core course in the Bachelor of Laws programs and is approved by the Legal Practitioners' Admission Board.

This course provides students with an introduction to the key skills necessary to undertake their substantive law courses, including knowledge of Australian legal institutions; sources of law (judge made law and statute law); professional identity and the importance of legal ethics; how to interpret the law (both case law and statute law) and how to conduct legal research. This course also includes the development of skills relating to problem solving within the context of statutory interpretation. These skills are explicitly taught and assessed throughout the course. Students will continue to build and develop these skills as they progress through other core courses in the Law program.

Course learning outcomes

On completion of this course students should have covered material and assessment to enable the following areas to be developed:

  1. Demonstrate [explain and apply] an understanding of a coherent body of knowledge relevant to the Australian legal system and underlying principles and concepts; the broader contexts within which legal issues arise in this area, and of the principles and values of justice and of ethical practice [suitability requirements for admission to practise] (PO1/TLO1).
  2. Demonstrate an ability to recognise and reflect upon (and a developing ability to respond to) ethical issues likely to arise in professional contexts [suitability requirements for admission], an ability to recognise and reflect upon the professional responsibilities of lawyers in promoting justice and in service to the community, and a developing ability to exercise professional judgment (PO2/TLO2).
  3. Identify and articulate legal issues relating to the Australian legal system; [comprehend legal and other materials]; apply legal reasoning to generate appropriate responses to legal issues; and engage in critical analysis and make a reasoned choice amongst alternatives (PO3/TLO3).
  4. Demonstrate the intellectual and practical skills needed to identify, research in an ethical manner, evaluate and synthesise relevant factual, legal and policy issues (PO4/TLO4).
  5. Communicate in ways that are effective, appropriate and persuasive for legal and non-legal audiences (PO5/TLO5).
  6. Explain the legislative process and identify applicable legislation and delegated legislation, general principles of statutory interpretation, understand [explain and apply] and make appropriate use of authorised aids to statutory interpretation, and deploy appropriate techniques in the course of solving interpretative problems [including problems raising special interpretative issues, and give a reasoned opinion as to the appropriate meaning of a legislative provision and as to the correct application of the provision to a given set of facts] (PO7).
  7. Reflect on and articulate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives about the law and the Australian legal system (PO8).

Topics

Description Weighting(%)
1. Introduction to the Australian legal system and legal institutions, legal research and secondary sources 10.00
2. The Australian Constitution and the role of the legislature, executive and judiciary 10.00
3. Sources of law - courts and judge made law 10.00
4. Interpretation of the law - precedent and case law research 20.00
5. Source of law - parliament and statute law research 10.00
6. Interpretation of the law - statutory interpretation 20.00
7. Legal ethics - understanding and practising law
10.00
8. Becoming a lawyer 10.00

Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed

Creyke, R, Hamer, D, O'Mara, P, Smith, B, and Taylor, T 2020, Laying down the law, 11th edn, LexisNexis Butterworths, Chatswood, New South Wales.
(latest edition is essential. Students do not need to purchase both "Laying Down the Law" and "Learning Law". Students only require one of these texts.)
Marinac A, Hart C, Chisholm R, Nielsen J, Wood A, Evans A and McKibbon S 2021, Learning Law, 2nd edn, Cambridge ¾«¶«´«Ã½app Press, Victoria, Australia.
(Latest edition required. Also available as an ebook. Students do not need to purchase both "Laying Down the Law" and "Learning Law". Students only require one of these texts.)
Mann, T (ed.), 'Oxford Australian law dictionary', Oxford ¾«¶«´«Ã½app Press, South Melbourne, Victoria (latest edition).

Student workload expectations

To do well in this subject, students are expected to commit approximately 10 hours per week including class contact hours, independent study, and all assessment tasks. If you are undertaking additional activities, which may include placements and residential schools, the weekly workload hours may vary.

Assessment details

Approach Type Description Group
Assessment
Weighting (%) Course learning outcomes
Assignments Written Quiz 1 No 10 1,4
Assignments Written Problem Solving 1 No 40 1,3,4,5,7
Assignments Written Problem Solving 2 No 40 3,4,5,6
Assignments Written Quiz 2 No 10 1,2
Date printed 9 February 2024