Units

---

Sample subject outline - Semester 1 2013

Note: Subject outlines often change before the semester begins. Below is a sample outline.

Rationale

An understanding of the fundamental institutions and systems of the Australian legal system, essential legal concepts and terminology, sources of the law, and ways to interpret the law is fundamental to the study of law. These building blocks are the foundation upon which the legal system is constructed and represent core knowledge which must be understood by law students and legal practitioners before they can engage with the law itself. This unit will introduce the essential concepts and institutions of the Australian legal system as well as introducing and developing essential legal skills within the context of real world problems.

As the foundational legal unit for law and justice students, the unit will also introduce students to the transition to university and tertiary study in law, the career paths for law, the impact of law as a profession, the common activities and roles of lawyers in the profession and broader community, and the foundational sources of law (cases and legislation). This unit will assist students in acquiring the foundational knowledge about the Australian legal system and legal skills (reading, case analysis, locating cases and legislation) necessary for successful study in all other units of the law degree.

Aims

The unit aims to provide foundational knowledge about law and legal concepts, the Australian legal system and constitution, sources of law (including their purpose and use) and the ethical underpinnings of the law and legal profession. The unit also aims to introduce, within real world contexts, the essential legal skills of case analysis, problem solving, legal writing, legal reasoning, legal research and statutory interpretation to enable students to progress in their study of law.

Objectives

At the completion of this unit you should be able to:
1. identify and effectively communicate the relevant principles underpinning how Australian laws are made, administered and interpreted; the institutions of the law including the rule of law, parliament, the court system, and the legal profession. (GC1, 3));
2. communicate effectively an understanding of the historical development of the Australian legal and governmental system and the relationship between the Australian legal system and Indigenous law (GC 1, 3);
3. locate, read, analyse and apply case law, and legislation in the context of solving simple legal problems;(GC 1, 2, 3)
4. interpret legislation by applying at a basic level the principles and rules of statutory interpretation;
5. recognise and define real world legal problems and apply legal principles with an emphasis on the use and analysis of case law including the doctrine of precedent to solve those problems;
6. communicate effectively, orally and in writing, using plain and correct English and appropriate legal terminology and citation as required in all law units and within the legal profession (GC 3);
7. appreciate the profession of law and the ethical obligations of lawyers and the ethical standards in tertiary education;(GC 4, 6)
8. work independently, manage time effectively and reflect upon your own understanding and performance to develop strategies for improvement to assist your future studies in law.(GC 4, 5, 7).

Content

The material covered in this unit includes:
·Studying Law (weeks 1 and 2)
- -Ethics and the study of law
- -An introduction to the Australian legal and governmental system
- -An introduction to key legal terminology and concepts: common law, rule of law, precedent
- -Australian legal history
·Legal Concepts, Legal Systems and Legal Skills (weeks 3-13)
- -The Australian Court hierarchy
- -Case law
- -The doctrine of precedent
- -Statute law
- -Statutory interpretation
- -Judicial reasoning
- -Legal personality
- -An introduction to ethics and legal practice
Graduate Capabilities
Your understanding of the unit content and the development of skills will assist you to acquire the following law graduate capabilities:
GC1. Discipline Knowledge;
GC2. Problem Solving, Reasoning and Research;
GC3. Effective Communication;
GC4. Life Long Learning;
GC5. Work Independently and Collaboratively;
GC6. Professional, Social and Ethical Responsibility; and
GC7. Characteristics of Self-Reliance and Leadership.

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

This unit is a combination of content and skills that will develop your graduate capabilities. Therefore the unit is taught through a combination of face-to-face lectures (to assist with your transition into tertiary studies and understanding of foundational legal institutions and concepts); tutorials (to allow you to practise and develop your case analysis problem solving, legal writing, legal reasoning, case and legislation finding and updating skills and statutory interpretation) and online materials.

Study Guide and Cases and Materials
The Study Guide for the unit provides an outline of relevant content and prescribed readings and tutorial exercises for each week of semester. The cases and materials volume is a collection of readings necessary for the completion of prescribed tutorial exercises.

Lectures and Tutorials
Week 1: Lectures 2 x 2 hours, Tutorials 1 x 2 hours
Week 2: Lectures 2 x 2 hours, Tutorials 1 x 2 hours and Workshop 2 x 1 hour
Week 3 - 13 Lectures 1 x 1 hour and Tutorials 1 x 2 hours

Lectures

Weeks 1 and 2: In weeks 1 and 2 there will be 2 x two hour lectures. The lectures are audio taped and made available through the unit's Blackboard site.
External students will receive lectures during the compulsory External Orientation at the end of orientation week.

Weeks 3 -13: There is a one hour lecture timetabled for weeks 3-13 of the unit. The lectures are audio taped and made available through the unit's Blackboard site.

Tutorials and Workshops

Weeks 1 and 2: In week 1 you will have a two hour tutorial and in week 2 you will have a two hour tutorial and two one hour workshop.

Weeks 3 - 13: Two hour tutorials are timetabled for weeks 3-13 of the unit.
External students will have access to audio files based on each set of tutorial exercises through the unit's Blackboard site.
Online Materials
A variety of online learning and teaching resources are made available via the Blackboard site for this unit.

Compulsory External Orientation and External Attendance School
There is a compulsory orientation for external students at which the lectures, tutorials and workshops for weeks 1 and 2 will be conducted. The orientation is scheduled for the end of orientation week and runs for 3 days. Mid-way through semester there is a compulsory attendance school. External students will complete the multi-choice exam at the external attendance school. More information about what other course materials are covered at the external attendance school will be provided in the Study Guide.

Assessment

Assessment in this unit is both summative and formative.Assessment in this unit is both summative and formative. Formative assessment is designed to provide you with feedback on your skills development or attainment of understanding of law examined in this unit and the skills taught. In this unit you will receive formative feedback before the end of semester exam through:

• The face-to-face tutorials (internal students);


• External Orientation and Attendance School (external students);


• The feedback provided when completing the legal citation and library exercises;


• The individual written feedback on your external exercises (external students);


• The individual written feedback on your assignment;


• The generic feedback on the assignment placed on the unit's Blackboard site; and


• Examples of completed assessment items from previous years available on the unit Blackboard site; and


• The option of private consultation with a member of the teaching team during student consultation.

All of the feedback you receive links with learning outcome 8.
You should reflect upon the feedback (both your individual and generic feedback as provided on Blackboard) for the purpose of identifying:
1. gaps in your knowledge and understanding of the Australian legal system;
2. inadequacies in your problem solving and reasoning;
3. inadequacies in your skills of case analysis and statutory interpretation;
4. inadequacies in your legal writing;
5. strategies to improve your skills in problem solving and reasoning, legal research, statutory interpretation and oral and written communication in future assessment; and
6. areas for improvement for future studies within the LLB.

You should record your work, the feedback and your reflection, noting your strategies for improvement, in your Student ePortfolio. This links with learning outcome 8.

Assessment name: Quiz
Description: The quiz comprises:
-Library Exercise
-Legal Citation Exercises
-Multiple Choice Quiz.

Library Exercise: The Library Exercise will require you to locate and identify various electronic and paper-based resources available in the Law Library. This exercise will develop your skills in locating the legal resources available in the Law Library, a skill necessary for the study of law and the practice of law. Learning Outcomes 3 and 4.

Legal Citation Exercises: The Legal Citation Exercise will introduce you to the citation of four important and commonly cited legal materials - cases, statutes, textbooks and journal articles. You will be able to attempt the Legal Citation Exercise at any time via the unit's Blackboard site. You will be required to complete and pass every question in the exercise by week 7. You may leave the exercise and return at any time until you have completed all questions. This exercise will develop your skills in legal citation which is part of the skill of written communication. This skill is essential for the study of law and the practice of law. Learning Outcome 6.

Multiple Choice Quiz: For the multiple choice quiz, questions based on the content of the first five weeks of the unit will be released on the unit's Blackboard site at the beginning of semester. The quiz will be made available (on the blackboard site) for students to complete during week 7 of the semester. Students will have 20 minutes to complete the quiz once it is opened. The exam will consist of a sample of the questions that were released on Blackboard. The multiple-choice quiz will assess your understanding of the introductory material covered in the intensive in weeks 1 and 2 and the Legal Concepts and History in weeks 3-5 of the unit. Learning Outcomes 3-5.
Relates to objectives: See description
Weight: 15%
Internal or external: Both
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Week 7

Assessment name: Discussion Forum (Tutorials)
Description: Internal students will be assessed on their preparation for and participation in and contribution to discussions, case analysis skills, problem solving and legal reasoning in tutorials throughout the semester.
Relates to objectives: 1-6
Weight: 15%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Weeks 1-13

Assessment name: Problem Solving Task
Description: As the compulsory External Orientation and External School allow insufficient opportunity to assess students for the 15% discussion forum in tutorials, external students will instead submit two written exercises. The external exercises will assess your understanding of the material in the unit and the development of your skills in case analysis, written communication, problem solving and legal reasoning.
Relates to objectives: 1-6 and 8
Weight: 15%
Internal or external: External
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Week 10

Assessment name: Assignment
Description: The assignment will require you to read and analyse case law test your ability to read, analyse and write about legal materials. The assignment will require you to demonstrate comprehension of the case law, case analysis skills you have practised in tutorials and an understanding of appropriate legal writing.
Relates to objectives: 3, 5, 6 and 8
Weight: 25%
Internal or external: Both
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Week 9

Assessment name: Examination (Theory)
Description: There will be a compulsory exam at the end of the semester during the central examination period. The exam will assess the extent to which you have attained a broad knowledge and understanding of the principles underpinning the legal system, an ability to interpret and analyse sources of the law, and an ability to recognise legal problems and apply legal principles to solve those problems. It will comprise problem based and/or essay questions.

Note that material relevant to completing the exam may be released one week in advance of the date of the exam.
Relates to objectives: 1-8
Weight: 45%
Internal or external: Both
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Central Exam Period

Academic Honesty

QUT is committed to maintaining high academic standards to protect the value of its qualifications. To assist you in assuring the academic integrity of your assessment you are encouraged to make use of the support materials and services available to help you consider and check your assessment items. Important information about the university's approach to academic integrity of assessment is on your unit Blackboard site.

A breach of academic integrity is regarded as Student Misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties.

Resource materials

Prescribed Materials
Michelle Sanson, Thalia Anthony and David Worswick, Connecting with the Law (Oxford University Press, Australia: 2nd ed, 2010).
Michelle Sanson, Statutory Interpretation (Oxford University Press, Australia: 2012).

Recommended References
A law dictionary will be useful throughout your law course and in careers related to law.
A good general English dictionary is also strongly recommended.
S Chesterman and C Rhoden, Studying Law at University: Everything You Need to Know (Allen and Unwin, Sydney: 2005).
C Cook, R Creyke, R Geddes and D Hamer, Laying Down the Law (LexisNexis Butterworths, Australia: 8th ed, 2011).
Nikolas James and Rachael Field, The New Lawyer (Wiley, Australia: 2012)
R Macdonald and D Clarke-Dickson, Clear and Precise - Writing Skills for Today's Lawyer (Thomson Custom Publishing, Sydney: 3rd ed, 2010).
M Meehan and G Tullock, Grammar for Lawyers (LexisNexis Butterworths, Australia: 2nd ed, 2006).
DC Pearce and RS Geddes, Statutory Interpretation in Australia (LexisNexis, Australia: 7th ed, 2011).
J Pyke and A MacAdam (eds), Legal Institutions and Method (LexisNexis Butterworths, Australia: 4th ed, 2010).

Blackboard site
Online resources for this unit are available on the unit blackboard site.

Risk assessment statement

There are no out of the ordinary risks associated with this unit.

Disclaimer - Offer of some units is subject to viability, and information in these Unit Outlines is subject to change prior to commencement of semester.

Last modified: 19-Oct-2012