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Year:

LS100 Introduction to Legal Systems and Methods

Updated: 08 June 2011
Credit Points 6
Offering
Responsible Campus Teaching Period Mode of Study Online Level
Armidale Semester 1 Off Campus C - Internet access required
Armidale Semester 1 On Campus C - Internet access required
Armidale Semester 2 Off Campus C - Internet access required
Armidale Semester 2 On Campus C - Internet access required
Intensive School(s)
Start Finish Attendance Notes
16 April 2011 17 April 2011 Non-Mandatory Intensive school applies to Semester 1 only
Supervised Exam There is a UNE Supervised Examination held at the end of the teaching period in which you are enrolled.
Pre-requisites None
Co-requisites None
Restrictions None
Notes

Legal Studies unit available to all students, subject to degree rules

Combined Units None
Coordinator(s) Harry Geddes (hgeddes@une.edu.au)
Unit Description

This unit serves as an introduction to law studies. Its objective is to start students on the path to achieving an understanding of how the legal system operates, the ways in which the law is made and the role of the law in society.

Prescribed Material
Mandatory
Text(s):

Note: Students are expected to purchase prescribed material. Please note that textbook requirements may vary from one teaching period to the next.

Laying Down the Law
ISBN: 9780409325317
Cook, C., Creyke, R., Geddes, R. and Hamer, D., LexisNexis Butterworths 7th ed. 2008
Text refers to: Semesters 1 and 2 , On and Off Campus
Lexis Nexis Concise Australian Legal Dictionary
ISBN: 9780409327311
Nygh, P.E. and Butt, P. (eds), LexisNexis Butterworths 4th ed. 2010
Text refers to: Semesters 1 and 2 , On and Off Campus
Disclaimer Unit information may be subject to change prior to commencement of the teaching period.
Assessment
Title Exam Length Weight Mode No. Words
Assignment 1 20% 1000
Relates to Learning Outcomes (LO) and Graduate Attributes (GA)
LO: 1, 3, 4 GA: 1, 2, 4, 6
Assignment 2 30% 1500
Relates to Learning Outcomes (LO) and Graduate Attributes (GA)
LO: 1, 2, 3, 4 GA: 1, 2, 4, 6
Open Book Examination 2 hrs 50%
Relates to Learning Outcomes (LO) and Graduate Attributes (GA)
LO: 1-5 GA: 1, 2, 3, 6, 7

Learning Outcomes (LO) Upon completion of this unit, students will be able to:
  1. interpret the principal sources of law, including statutory law and judge-made law, customary law, how the doctrine of precedent operates and the principles of statutory interpretation;
  2. learn basic methods of legal analysis. Students are taught skills in critical analysis of legal problems and applying relevant case law and legislation to particular sets of facts;
  3. carry out legal research. Students are also taught how to find primary and secondary legal resource material, both in the Law Library and on the Internet;
  4. learn the writing skills required by lawyers. Training is given in the writing skills required within the School of Law. Instruction in both the writing of assignments and examinations is included; and
  5. learn Australia's constitutional instruments, structures and doctrines. The Commonwealth and State Constitutions, the federal system, legislative, executive and judicial power, the doctrine of the separation of powers, and the role of the High Court are all considered.

Graduate Attributes (GA)
Attribute Taught Assessed Practised
1 Knowledge of a Discipline
Students will gain knowledge of the discipline through a mixture of lectures, tutorials, online discussion and weekly set readings. Discipline knowledge is examined through a number of forms of assessment including assignments and end of unit examinations.
True True True
2 Communication Skills
Students are provided with information on the correct way to approach analytical tasks and this includes information on the way to construct a written legal argument. The quality of legal argument, which incorporates the practical application of these skills, is assessed through a number of forms of assessment including assignments and end of unit examinations.
True True True
3 Global Perspectives
Students are provided with references to comparative material which may include social, political and economic perspectives through a mixture of lectures, tutorials, online discussion and weekly set readings. Comparative jurisdictions include but are not limited to England and Wales, Canada, New Zealand, the United States, and a number of European jurisdictions. The quality of legal argument, which includes the ability to cite relevant comparative material where relevant, is assessed through a number of forms of assessment including assignments and end of unit examinations.
True True True
4 Information Literacy
Students will access cases, statutes and secondary literature which is located in libraries, electronic databases and other sources. Where required, advice is provided on how best to access these sources.
True True True
5 Life-Long Learning
Students are taught that the law has developed to its present state through a process of change and, by understanding that process, students are taught a skill that can be applied post-degree to assess how new developments may change the law and its relationship to society. The quality of legal argument, which may include the ability to explain the development of a legal rule, is assessed through a number of forms of assessment including assignments and end of unit examinations.
True True
6 Problem Solving
Students are provided with hypothetical problems in the unit materials. These problems form the basis of tutorials where the ability to apply the law to the facts is practiced. The ability to apply the law to solve a concrete problem is assessed through a number of forms of assessment including assignments and end of unit examinations.
True True True
7 Social Responsibility
Students are provided in their unit materials with sources that require students to evaluate a legal rule or principle in terms of its fairness or efficacy. The relationship between the internal and external dimensions of law and legal reasoning, and the potential for law to be a socially progressive force, may be explored. Assessment may include an essay question which requires the students to critically evaluate the current state of a particular area of law by reference to these perspectives.
True True True
   

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