No advanced standing for litigants in person
(See also Challenge examinations and advanced standing)
Students may apply for advanced standing on the basis of learning from work or other forms of practical experience, subject to the provisions of appropriate documentation and/or experiential learning.[1] Applicants for advanced standing under either of these criteria are usually required to sit a challenge exam. Before granting a challenge exam I need to be satisfied that there is at least a prima facie case that the applicant’s experience demonstrates ‘equivalent skills, knowledge and understanding to that gained if the relevant University of New England studies were undertaken.’[2]
Being a litigant in person (that is running your own court case, either as plaintiff or defendant, civil or criminal) does give a person some experience in a number of legal areas, but the truth is that most court cases involve issues of fact rather than law and where there are issues of law involved, they are usually fairly narrow. Any person may commence, or defend, a case and their action may, or may not be, meritorious and may or may not demonstrate a sound knowledge of the relevant law. You may win, or lose, for any number of reasons not related to knowledge of the law that governs the subject area. If experience as a litigant in person were equivalent to formal study, vexatious litigants would be entitled to a law degree without further study notwithstanding a finding that their litigation is without merit!
It follows that the fact that you have conducted your own case (whether civil, criminal, family, administrative etc and regardless of whether you won or lost), does not demonstrate that you have acquired the breadth and depth of knowledge that is equivalent to formal study of a unit at a University.
Accordingly experience as a litigant in person will not be considered a basis for allowing a student to sit a challenge exam in any unit.
Michael Eburn
Law Awards Co-ordinator
28 May 2005
[1] <http://www.une.edu.au/ebl/policies/advanced_standing.php>, [8] at 18 February 2005.